


Dystopian Utopia

by H20loo



Series: Dystopian Utopia [1]
Category: Frozen (2013)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Dystopia, Alternate Universe - Science Fiction, Alternate Universe - Superheroes/Superpowers, F/F, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-13
Updated: 2015-08-13
Packaged: 2018-04-14 13:39:35
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 59,149
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4566666
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/H20loo/pseuds/H20loo
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After the Great Destruction, civilization has rebuilt itself into a society of thinkers, a virtual utopia for the educated. But,utopia is never as it seems, and the infamous Ice Queen has made it her mission to destroy it.  Will she succeed, or will too many obstacles like her unwanted ginger Apprentice cause her to lose the battle that she has to win to survive?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Imperfect Perfections

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: Hi, and thank you for clicking on my story. Most of the characters that will appear in this story belong to Disney, and this is done strictly for fun not profit. One of them does belong to me, but she won't be showing up for a while. :) Also, this story will present several different same-sex relationships, so if that isn't your thing, then this isn't your story. It will eventually be Elsanna, but not incestuous as the story will explain. I think that's it, and again, thanks for reading.

Chapter 1 - Imperfect Perfections

A shadowy figure slipped down the hallway unnoticed by myriad security cameras that always guarded the passage. This in and of itself was an accomplishment, because the saboteur had some of the palest skin that existed and she was usually easy to spot in a darkened hallway. But, when the Ice Queen didn't want to be detected, she was never detected, and even the most sophisticated cameras in the State wouldn't be able to find her.

Her real name was Elsa, but that was an artifact of a different life, when she was just a Proletariat child happy in her family's meager existence. Her father had been a fisherman, her mother a seamstress, but they had provided her with happy, stable home that had allowed her to become the woman that she was. She would have been happy to remain Proletariat forever, doing whatever manual labor the Test said she was best suited for, but that was not how life worked in the State. If you tested Plebian, and due to her high intelligence, Elsa had been expected to test Plebian practically from the moment she left the womb, then you had to leave the Proletariat behind. You had to become a Plebe; there simply was no other choice. "Well, that wasn't exactly true," Elsa mused. "You could always be executed in front of your family," she thought bitterly.

The bitter thoughts ended when she reached the panel that was her mission for this particular evening. She had to focus; otherwise it would be a mess, not be the elegant sabotage that she prided herself on. She closed her eyes briefly, concentrating her powers of cryokinesis into both of her index fingers rather than in her whole hands. She then used those fingers to decimate the panel, rendering it inoperable in seconds. The alarms blared, but the door the panel guarded slid open, and Elsa slipped into the room. There before her stood the power supply for everything within a 20 mile radius. She smirked and used both of her hands to drive an ice spike about two feet in diameter right through its center, killing the power source immediately. The alarms stopped, the lights shut off, and knowing the doors would no longer work, Elsa froze a part of the back wall, causing it to crumble and open a hole just big enough for her to slip through.

It was easy to make it back to her quarters in the chaos she had created, and she slipped into the relative safety of her rooms, pleased with her success. She froze her clothes off of her and slipped them into the incinerator; by destroying them two ways, she could be guarantee no DNA evidence would be there to implicate her. She retrieved and replaced her biometrics chip and communications cuff so that she was back on the grid and then fell exhaustedly into bed. Within seconds, a thud landed on her bed, started purring and curled up next to her. "Good night, Olaf," she said affectionately, stroking his long white fur as she drifted off to sleep.

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

The alarm in her communications cuff blared and Elsa groaned as she slowly came back to consciousness. The late nights followed by early mornings were probably the things she liked least about sabotaging things. Her room was dimly lit by emergency lighting, meaning they hadn't managed to fix what she had destroyed last night, so her spirits improved as she headed off to the shower. The water was cold, so she showered quickly, washing only the essentials before jumping out. Her uniform was a dark blue blazer and pants accented by a white blouse. All in the Architecture thread wore this uniform, but Elsa was self-aware enough to know how good it looked on her. She didn't need to see well to be able to put up her hair, and it was in its impeccable bun within minutes. Satisfied, she put some food down for Olaf, grabbed her satchel and manually opened the door, walking out into the dormitory hallway. She closed the door and started walking towards the double doors revealing both the approaching sunrise and the way out to the Campus.

Even though she hated practically everything about the State, Elsa had to admit they had done a good job with the Campus. It was built according to the Eight Pillars of Wisdom that now ruled the State, and it was divided into two parts: North Campus and South Campus. The North Campus held the dormitories, where all of the plebes assigned to Campus lived, as well as the buildings that housed the Four Pillars of Art. They had modeled this part of it after the universities that had abounded before the Great Destruction, and stately brick buildings were interspersed amongst tall trees, green grass and open spaces. South Campus housed the Four Pillars of Science and so was modeled after the hospitals and skyscrapers of the previous age to give a sense of scientific progress and its hopeful, gleaming future. Architecture straddled the line between the Arts and Sciences, but it officially belonged to the Pillar of Mathematics. Thus Architecture was housed in a window-filled steel and chrome building that was just barely across the border between North and South Campus.

Elsa walked up to the building's front entrance. There was more security than usual, owing to the power outage, but as soon as they saw her, the guards lowered their heads respectfully and allowed her entrance. Elsa sighed, pleased and annoyed all at once. This was the bitter irony of her existence: she was the archetypical Plebe, a former Proletariat who had taken the Test when she was eighteen as was the law and had revealed herself to be extraordinary, and thus worthy of being plucked from the unwashed masses to become Plebian, one of the elite of society. She was given the best of everything and she had used it, rising through the Apprentice and Thinker ranks faster than anyone else in the history of the State and claiming the coveted Master title before her 20th birthday. Even her beloved cat was a symbol of her power; pets were not allowed for most, as they took away valuable resources, but the ruling Patricians could bestow them as recognition that this Citizen was the model for all other Citizens to aspire to. Olaf had been given to her the day she had achieved Master, a tiny white ball of Persian fur that she had fallen in love with immediately, but he was still a status symbol. She had a life that practically everyone else in the State would have loved to have.

Looking at the floors upon floors of steps that she had to climb because the elevators were out, she blew a short breath and began to climb. Yes, she had an enviable life, but, she was deeply unhappy, and using her powers to become the Ice Queen had been born as a way to rebel against her perfect life. It hadn't taken Elsa long to figure out that, while she enjoyed power, she wanted freedom far more, and life as a Plebe was far from free. The Test had determined her aptitude was architecture and that was where she had been placed and that was where she would work until she was no longer fit for service. At her induction, she had been fitted with a biometrics chip and a communications cuff, and though she had been able to figure out how to use her powers to remove them, when she did have them on, they told the Interface everything about her condition and her location. She was never going to be married, nor allowed a permanent relationship, and she was going to have one child in exactly four years' time. All Plebian women were artificially inseminated at 25; they carried the child to term, were anesthetized during delivery, and when they woke up, their child was gone, never to be seen by their mother, whisked away to become the next generation of Plebes.

The thought of her child being taken away from her triggered a primal surge of rage in Elsa that threatened to unleash enough power to encase the stairwell she was climbing in solid ice. But, her powers had been in the family for generations, she had been taught to embrace and control them, and there was no way that she would do something so stupid as to expose them no matter how emotional she became. She took a breath and resumed her climb, her thoughts turning again to companionship and children. Her parents' marriage hadn't been perfect, but it had worked, and she loved being part of a family. A sibling would have been nice, but no one in the State, be they Patrician, Plebe or Proletariat, was allowed more than one child unless the pregnancy naturally had multiple births. When she was very little, she had always wanted a family for her grown-up self, and even as she grew up and realized her Plebian destiny, the desire to find a nice girl to settle down with to nurture their one child never really went way. This desire was why she had eschewed any and all personal relationships from the moment she had gotten here. Yes, she was surrounded by the most beautiful and smartest women that the State had to offer, but there was no point in even trying due to the circumstances, which was why "Ice Queen" was such a perfect moniker for her in more ways than one.

Her long climb and her ruminations finally finished, she opened the door to the hallway and made her way to her office suite. Her assistant looked up quickly as the door opened and stood up instantly. "I have gotten all materials that you require with the power out, Master," he said respectfully, bowing.

"Very good, Assistant," Elsa replied, pleased with his efficiency. "Are there any messages or other things that require my attention?"

"A new class of Plebeians has been chosen, Master," he replied, "And one of them has tested into Architecture. She has been sent here to become your Apprentice."

Elsa blinked in mild surprise. It was one of her duties as a Master to have Apprentices, but she was never assigned one because of her talent, status and reputation for preferring to work alone. "When is she set to arrive?" she asked, wondering how much time she had to prepare for this unexpected development.

"She is already here, Master," her Assistant replied. "She is waiting in the outer office."

Elsa frowned. "I will tell you when to send her in," she said curtly, annoyed with this new development.

"Of course, Master," her Assistant replied. Elsa nodded and walked to her personal office door. She manually slid it open, walked through and slid it shut, putting her satchel down in its usual place. She sat at her desk, noting the pencils, paper and battery-operated tablet sitting there. She used the tablet to access her new Apprentice's file.

She was eighteen, as most new Apprentices were, and was Plebian by birth. She had passed the Test and had maintained her Plebian status, but her school records indicated that she was not the best of students and had likely passed on natural talent rather than by hard work. She had scored high both in the Visual Arts Pillar and in the Mathematics Pillar and the calculations deemed her an Architect. Satisfied that she at least knew the basics, she contacted her Assistant. "Please escort her in," she ordered. Her Assistant answered in the affirmative and within seconds her door slid open. A young woman with reddish hair and freckles entered and stood nervously in front of Elsa's desk.

"She's terrified, "Elsa internally decided, noting the general twitchiness of her body and the fear in her blue-green eyes. Those eyes held something else, though, and after a moment's reflection, Elsa realized it was hope. "What is your designation, Plebian?" she asked formally as this was their first introduction.

The girl brightened at being spoken to. "I'm Anna," she said, a smile coming easily to her face.


	2. (In)auspicious Beginnings

Chapter 2 – (In)auspicious Beginnings

As soon as the words left her mouth, Anna felt her face grow hot, and if she wasn't about to die from embarrassment already, she probably would have gone running from the room. Introducing yourself to your Master with anything but your official designation was a serious breach of protocol, and from the way the expression on the beautiful face of her Master darkened, Anna knew her egregious error was not going to be overlooked. "By the Pillars, I wish that I had a verbal filter sometimes," she thought morosely. Her Master started to speak, and Anna tensed, expecting the worst and knowing she deserved it, especially with this being their first introduction.

"Yes, well, perhaps you were in the past," Elsa stated sharply, "but that kind of designation is never appropriate in any public forum in this stage of your career. When being spoken to within our Thread, you will only introduce yourself as 'Apprentice' and only answer to 'Apprentice'. Outside of our Thread, your designations are either 'Plebian' or 'Architect'. You will only ever address me formally as 'Master', and in less formal situations, you may substitute 'Ma'am'. Should you fail to do any of these things again, you will be formally reprimanded. If this is a recurring problem, you will be removed from my tutelage. Is this quite clear, Apprentice?"

Anna stayed silent for a moment, processing the reprimand and being reminded of her Master's widespread reputation for being ice cold with everyone. Even the room temperature seemed to drop a few degrees under her disapproval. "Well, the rumors hadn't been far off," she decided internally. "Yes, Master; I'm sorry," she said aloud contritely, her face falling even as she tried to remain stoic.

At her Apprentice's crestfallen face, Elsa's conscience poked her and she felt the tiniest bit bad that she had caused her new Apprentice to feel bad. But, being who she was, she was never going to let that dismay show, even if it did cause her to relax her authoritarian tone a bit. "Don't ever be sorry," she stated in an even, almost conversational voice. "Learn from your mistakes, don't repeat them, but never apologize." Anna looked up from where she had been studying her black shoes, surprised at the shift in tone. "Now, it's time for your first assignment," Elsa stated, glad that her Apprentice's demeanor was becoming gradually more cheerful. "Sit," she ordered, indicating one of the chairs that stood behind her drafting table. Anna did as she was told, and Elsa retrieved the pencils and paper from her desk, setting them before the Apprentice. "You have ten minutes to draw your favorite building. Your time starts now," Elsa said, setting the timer in her cuff. Anna looked at her briefly like she wanted to say something, but then thought better of it and set to work.

Elsa studied her new Apprentice as she worked, noting the concentration on her face and the swift, natural movements of her sketching. Her Apprentice had been drawing for a while, Elsa decided, and she was good at it. Ten minutes passed by quickly and the cuff started to chime. Anna put down her pencils and handed the paper over.

The first thing that Elsa noticed was that there were four drawings, not one. "I thought I specified that you should draw your favorite building," she admonished.

Anna fidgeted nervously. "Yes, you did, um, Master, but I couldn't decide-I never can actually-, so I just went with four that are most remarkable to me," she explained.

Elsa sighed, a bit annoyed that her directions were not followed, but slightly impressed that her Apprentice had produced four quality sketches in ten minutes. In the upper left quadrant, she had drawn a multi-tiered house with flat, clean lines surrounded by a brick wall. In the upper right, she had drawn a magnificent palace surrounded by gardens. In the lower left, she had drawn a municipal building with a comprised of a tall tower with a flat-roofed building at its base. Lastly in the right bottom corner, she had drawn a geodesic sphere supported by four stone stanchions buried into the ground. "These buildings all existed before the Great Destruction," Elsa noted, recognizing all of them. "Is there nothing modern that you like?"

"There are some very pretty buildings, especially here on Campus," Anna allowed, "but, these, I don't know, these have always represented something special to me."

"Like?" Elsa prompted.

Anna frowned, thinking, and then pointed at the brick house. "I love this one because it was so forward thinking. Its design looked like something that was decades older. And I loved the central fireplace; it was a home, and the fireplace where everyone could gather made it feel like one," she said. Anna then pointed at the palace. "I just like this one because it's magnificent," she said, with an embarrassed grin.

"What about the other two? Why do you like those?" Elsa asked, entering her Apprentice's answers down on her tablet.

"They represent hope," Anna said simply before continuing on with the explanation. "If you take the time periods they were built in, there was a sense of optimism about the future and these buildings represented that optimism. One was the city hall of a growing metropolis that would soon become the envy of the nation. The other housed a vision of a gleaming tomorrow where mankind worked together to communicate and solve humanity's problems."

"But those glistening futures either did not happen or turned into utter failures," Elsa countered.

"True," Anna admitted, "but for me, there is something about past hope that inspires me to have future hope."

Elsa looked at her, amazed that anyone Plebian-born would have that much natural optimism. "You have an interesting outlook on life, Apprentice," she stated.

Anna shrugged, a grin coming to her face. "So I've been told time and time again, Master," she replied cheerfully.

Elsa looked at her speculatively, but didn't comment further. She closed the program she was using and opened another, as the tablet was their only option when the power was out. "This is the main drafting program we use," she explained, giving the tablet to her Apprentice and drawing up a chair to sit just behind her and peer over her shoulder.

Anna took the tablet and tried to remain still, even as every nerve ending in her left shoulder was alerting her to her Master's closeness. This was the mythical Hell, she decided after just a few minutes. There was one of the most beautiful and intelligent women in the State draped over her, talking in a low murmur in her ear, but it was about architecture and the woman in question was her Master. The universe was mocking her; Anna could just sense it.

"Are you even listening to me, Apprentice?" Elsa demanded, and Anna jumped.

"Um, yes, of course, Master," she said quickly.

"Then what did I just say?" Elsa queried.

"Uh, you were saying that the tablet version of the software isn't as fully functional as the desktop version, but since the Ice Queen killed the power last night, it's the best thing that we have and we should try to make do," Anna recited, thankful that she always half-listened and that her power of recall was unparalleled.

"I never mentioned the Ice Queen," Elsa answered, surprised that her Apprentice had gotten it mostly right. She had seemed a million miles away.

"Well, yeah, but the power box was killed by a huge spike of ice," Anna replied. "Who else would it have been?"

"It's not our job to speculate," Elsa said primly. "We are Architects. Well, you will be if I can manage to train you." Anna looked at her, not quite sure whether she should be offended or not. Elsa ignored her and retrieved the drawing she had asked her Apprentice to make. "The first thing you will need to learn is how to use our software. I want you to make 3D exterior models and basic but workable blueprints everything that you drew," she instructed.

"For everything?" Anna echoed, dismayed. "All four of them?"

"Yes," Elsa replied.

"That's going to be a lot of work," Anna pointed out.

"Well, then, perhaps you should have listened to me and drawn one building instead of four," Elsa retorted. "Get to work, please."

"Yes, Master," Anna said with just a hint of attitude.

"Do not take that tone with me, Apprentice," Elsa stated. "Now get to work."

Anna held back her retort for once and set out to work, knowing that she was not making a very good impression and wanting to correct that. It soon became apparent, though, that five minutes of terse directions given as she was highly distracted had not been enough to use the program and she was stuck. Mindful that she had already committed a severe breach of protocol, had ignored her Master's instructions and then had given her Master attitude when given another instruction, she timidly went to ask for help, hoping her Master would actually give her some guidance after her impertinence.

Elsa wasn't surprised when her Apprentice slid slowly out the chair and meekly came towards her with the tablet in hand after only a few minutes of fiddling with the program. She hadn't given her Apprentice nearly enough information to run the program properly and the program wasn't intuitive enough to figure out on its own. "Did you need something, Apprentice?" she inquired.

"I have reached an impasse in the completion of my assignment," Anna said formally. Elsa raised an eyebrow. "I can't get the stupid program to let me draw a doorway," she clarified.

Elsa nodded, and Anna could have sworn a ghost of a smirk graced her features before it disappeared. "Sit," she ordered, indicating the chair by her desk and Anna obeyed. Elsa dug through her desk and finally came up with the notebook she had been searching for. She handed it and a pen to Anna. "I'll take you through the whole process for one of your buildings," she said, "And you need to write notes and actually listen to what I am saying. Then it will be up to you to do the other three."

"Thank you, Master," Anna said, honestly grateful that her Master didn't appear to be all that angry and that she was giving Anna yet another chance.

"You're welcome," Elsa replied sincerely, appreciative of the gratitude. "Now, let's start with the house."

They worked all morning and afternoon together, and as the sun began to set behind the western mountains, their only light source began to fade with it. Power had still not been restored, and without it, it would soon grow too dark to do anything useful. Anna watched the encroaching darkness and hoped it meant the end of the work day. Her Master was a machine, powering through everything without any regard for food, breaks or any other personal necessities, and Anna was exhausted. She really just wanted to get something to eat and collapse onto the couch in her quarters.

Elsa also noted the diminishing light. Much to her delight, the power was still out, so it would get prohibitively dark in her office soon. The tablet was also about out of battery power and her Apprentice was obviously exhausted, so Elsa took pity on her and decided to call it a day, pleased with the progress that had been made. "I think that is enough for the first day, Apprentice," she stated, saving their work and closing the program. Anna breathed a sigh of relief and stood up, wincing when stiffened muscles were forced to move. Elsa glanced at her cuff as she rose and stretched herself. She needed to give herself enough time to prepare for her Apprentice's Initiation tonight, especially since no one had bothered to tell her she was getting a new Apprentice. "I'll expect you at my quarters exactly two hours from now," she said, rolling her shoulders to stretch them out.

Anna stared at Elsa blankly for a few moments, her mind trying frantically to figure out why she would need to be at her Master's quarters in two hours. A few inappropriate ideas ran through her head, and it wasn't unheard of for the Master/Apprentice relationship to involve sex, but her Master just didn't seem the type. Not that Anna would have minded if her Master was that type, she mused before realizing what she was thinking and being scandalized by it. Apparently her fatigue was working against her and her thoughts were betraying her. "Yes, Master," she replied quickly, still not understanding, but noticing her Master was looking at her expecting an answer.

Elsa nodded. "Good. You agreed to something without knowing what you are agreeing to for the first time today. That is what an Apprentice should do and I'm glad to see you are improving," she said, enjoying her Apprentice's shocked and slightly embarrassed face.

Anna watched as her Master gathered up her things, her pride still stinging that her Master had read her so easily and her mind still working on why she needed to be at her Master's quarters in two hours. After thinking it through, she realized it might be some sort of initiation into the Thread. During Induction, she had heard that most Threads had informal initiation ceremonies, and it made sense that Architecture might be one of them. That was her best idea, she decided, and then blushed when she thought of what she had thought of first. She had sullied her Master's invitation with impure thoughts when her Master was only following tradition and doing her duty. At least she hadn't said anything out loud for once, and so there was something to be grateful about, she grumbled to herself.

Although Elsa seemed like she was completely involved with getting ready to go, she had been surreptitiously watching her Apprentice the entire time. Whether she knew it or not, the girl had a very expressive face and Elsa had watched as several emotions played across her features. She had initially been confused, but then had an idea she had discarded before settling on another idea why she had been told to go to her Master's quarters. Then she had been embarrassed that she had the first idea. Elsa filed the information away for future use and manually opened her door. "Two hours, Apprentice," she reiterated and walked out the door without looking back.

Anna watched her go, tried not to stare at the sashaying hips and failed miserably. When she snapped out of it, she realized she had to get moving, and her fatigue disappeared in her excitement. She had to get ready and courtesy probably demanded that she bring a gift, so she would have to go shopping. She really hoped that her Master's public file had some information about her likes and dislikes.

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

About one and half hours later, Elsa's communication cuff chimed as she was putting the finishing touches on her Apprentice's Initiation. It wasn't going to be formal; Architecture Thread tradition was that the new Master invited the new Apprentice somewhere so that the traditional gifts could be given, they could get to know one another better, and the professional relationship could start off on the right foot. Some Masters went all out and it was a party that lasted for days. Others, like Elsa's own, simply invited her over to dinner and gave her the gifts. Elsa had appreciated the simplicity and her Initiation was one of the few moments of Plebian life that she had actually enjoyed. That was why she wanted to do the same for her Apprentice, who, when she glanced down at her cuff, was the person who happened to be calling.

"Master?" the message read. Apparently her Apprentice had not been brave enough to call and had decided on text.

"Yes, Apprentice?" Elsa texted back.

"What should I wear?" came the typed question.

It was a fair question, Elsa mused. She hadn't given her Apprentice much information about tonight. "Whatever is nice looking but comfortable," she replied. "Tonight is not formal."

"Ok. Thank you, Master!" the text read, and even with typed words Elsa could hear her Apprentice's cheerful tone. She sighed. This Apprentice thing was going to be tough for her. She was so used to working alone, so used to being the Ice Queen that having a constantly overly enthusiastic optimist in her presence was going to be a significant challenge. But, Elsa thought, she owed it to the girl to do her very best as a Master. That meant teaching her, nurturing her and supporting her, even when Elsa wasn't comfortable with it. Elsa might be a cynical, rebellious saboteur, but her Apprentice was still a bright-eyed kid, and Elsa would never be the one to take the light out of her eyes.

Exactly two hours later, Anna stood before a shiny metal door that the public record claimed was her Master's quarters. The public records had also confirmed her hypothesis that this was probably some sort of initiation ceremony, which had been helpful, but had yielded little in the way of her Master's personal details, which was not. There had been one unique thing mentioned though, and Anna had seized upon it, ransacking the shops still open even in a power outage until she had found what she thought was the perfect gift. That gift was now nestled in the box that sat in her hands, a box that she kept fiddling with because of her nervousness.

She stood there awkwardly, not knowing if the door would sense her and chime if the power was out. She thought about knocking, but the metal door was thick, she didn't know how effective the knocking would be and her Master could easily ignore or overlook it. Realizing her thoughts were going a million meters a second in a million different directions, she took a calming breath. She had always been energetic, some would say hyperactive, but her Master flustered her and made it worse than usual. She decided to knock, but before she could, the door slid open of its own accord.

"Good Evening, Apprentice," Elsa said, and Anna noted that she had changed out of her Architecture uniform into black jeans and an ice-blue turtleneck. Her white-blond hair had also been taken out of its bun and was in a loose braid slung over her left shoulder. Most strikingly, her feet were bare and Anna briefly had a hard time reconciling this casualness with the rigid Master she had been working with for most of the day.

"Good Evening, Master," she replied, bowing just a little.

"Please come in," Elsa invited, moving out of the doorway.

Anna stepped in, her eyes sweeping around at the emergency-lighting lit space. Elsa noted it. Her Apprentice's nervous energy has dissipated throughout the day, but now it was back with a vengeance, and Elsa couldn't help see how she was bouncing the package she had brought between her hands. "Welcome to my living space," she said, hoping she sounded friendly and welcoming so the girl would calm down. "Have you guessed why you're here yet?"

"Initiation?" Anna answered hopefully.

"Good guess," Elsa replied and Anna was happy she had figured it out. "Is that for me?" Elsa asked, indicating the box. Anna's fidgeting was making her irritated and she asked mainly so she could get the box away from her Apprentice.

"No. Yes. Maybe?" Anna stuttered, surprised by the abrupt question. Her Master simply looked at her and waited for more explanation. Anna handed her the box. "It's, um, for your cat," she explained.

"My cat," Elsa repeated, looking at the box in her hands.

"Yeah, your cat," Anna replied, nodding. "It was the only thing unique I could find out about you and I wanted to get you something unique to impress you because I messed up pretty badly today and…wait, is that him?" she asked suddenly.

Elsa turned around to look where her Apprentice's focus had been drawn. "That's him," she confirmed. "His name is Olaf," she explained, turning around to face her Apprentice only to be met with empty air. Her Apprentice was now crouched on the ground, trying to get a better look at the rare pet.

"He's beautiful," Anna said softly, and a childlike wonder and joy spread across her face that was difficult to miss.

"She's never seen a real cat before," Elsa realized, and it made her a little sad. "Would you like to meet him?" she asked gently.

"Really? I can actually pet him?" Anna asked incredulously.

"Of course," Elsa answered. "He might be a little shy because he's only used to me, but he is always up for a good ear scratch. Go have a seat on the couch." Anna did as she was told, her eyes never leaving the cat, and Elsa came to sit beside her, setting her Apprentice's gift on the table as she did so. Elsa then patted the couch between her and her Apprentice. "Olaf, come say hello," she requested. The cat studied them both, wanting to go see his human but being wary of the other human. Curiosity and the temptation of an ear scratch won out over caution, though, and Olaf slowly made his way to the couch. He took one last brief look at Anna before jumping up on the couch where Elsa's hand was patting. "Good boy," she complimented him as she scratched his ears.

He started purring in contentment, and Anna finally grew brave enough to try to pet him. She reached out her hand and Elsa withdrew hers, allowing Anna to have Olaf's full attention. He looked at her and she timidly held out her hand. He sniffed her fingers and he must have decided she smelled okay because he used her fingers to scratch his chin. Anna grinned and slowly moved her fingers around to his behind his ears, scratching gently. The purring started in earnest, and after she added a couple of head-to-tail fur smoothings, Anna found herself with a lap of happily cuddling Persian cat. Anna looked at her Master, delighted in his affection, and asked a question. "So where did 'Olaf' come from?" she asked, her hands still stroking his soft fur.

"Well, an old family legend says that there was a magical, living snowman named Olaf that liked warm hugs," Elsa replied, leaving out the part that her ancestor had created him for self-preservation reasons. "This guy was snow white when I got him, and he has always liked warm hugs, so the name just seemed to fit."

"It does," Anna agreed. She looked up from the cat to her Master, and, true to form, said the first thing that came to her mind. "You know, Master, if you weren't the ultimate Proletariat-to-Plebian success story that everyone knows about, and all I knew of you was our time at the office today, I would have never guessed that you were ever Proletariat," she commented. "But then I come here, you're dressed in jeans and barefoot, you're sharing your awesome cat and you're talking about your family legends like I'm a friend not your Apprentice. It's kind of a weird switch," she said.

"A good Master does more than teach and reprimand; I am also supposed to nurture and support," Elsa replied, hoping the simple explanation would be enough.

"I guess," Anna allowed. She grew pensive and Elsa knew another question was brewing. "I know this question is going to be way out of line, but you're being so nice to me I am going to risk it," Anna stated. "What was it like having a family?" she asked plaintively.

That was not the question Elsa had been expecting, but it was asked so earnestly that her heart completely melted and she knew she had to answer it. She paused for a moment to collect her thoughts and then spoke. "I loved my family very much, and I still miss them every day," she replied honestly. "My mom and dad weren't perfect and neither was our family, but I knew that they loved me and they would do whatever they could to protect me. With the kind of precocious child that I was, everyone, including my mom and dad, knew I was going to become a Plebe. It didn't make it hurt any less when we had to say goodbye though." She looked at her Apprentice, who was looking at her sadly in sympathy. "But, I did have my family and I am grateful for that," she concluded, deciding to change gears before she revealed anymore of herself that she didn't want to. "What about you?" she asked her Apprentice. "What was it like growing up Plebian?"

"Lonely," Anna answered promptly. "Very, very lonely. Sure, I had my friends at school and in the dormitories, but it wasn't the same as having a family to go home to. And I really hated being number 6561."

"Is that how 'Anna' came to be?" Elsa asked. "I figured you had given it to yourself because Plebian children aren't given names."

"Yeah," Anna said with a self-effacing grin. "As soon as I learned to read and found out there were real names I wanted one. One of the first books I read all the way through had a character named Anna that I loved, so I decided that's who I wanted to be."

"I bet that didn't go over well at school," Elsa predicted.

"No, no it didn't," Anna confirmed. "It took a couple of days, but I soon learned that my new name would have to be something that I kept to myself."

"What happened this morning?" Elsa inquired.

Anna blushed. "You made me nervous and it just slipped out," she replied honestly.

"I figured it was first morning jitters," Elsa replied, that same ghost of a smirk that Anna had seen earlier on her face. "Speaking of which, should we start the Initiation?"

"Um, sure," Anna replied, enjoying the conversation and the cat so much she had almost forgotten why she was here.

Elsa got up from the couch and retrieved her gifts, which, after reluctantly putting Olaf down, Anna opened one by one as Elsa sat back down on the couch. In the first box was a slide rule. In the second was a notebook filled with quadrille paper. In the third was a well-crafted mechanical pencil. All were simple gifts and all were obsolete technology unlikely to be used, but as symbols of their profession, they made the perfect gift. "I love them," Anna gushed sincerely, looking at each one in turn before putting them carefully back into their boxes. "Are you going to open yours?" she asked, indicating the box on the table before them.

"I thought it was Olaf's," Elsa countered good-naturedly, but picked up the box. She opened it, and inside was a small rubber ball that had a bell inside of it and a small cloth mouse. She took out the ball and shook it to make it jingle, causing Olaf to snap to attention. She threw it, and the cat went racing off after it. It wasn't long before a chorus of jingles could be heard traveling around Elsa's quarters. "Well, he's going to be busy for a while," Elsa commented. She looked over at her Apprentice, thought about all they had talked about, and decided to cross an unspoken line. "Come on, Anna; It's time for dinner," she ordered genially, getting up from the couch and moving into the dining area.

Anna started to get up but then froze on the couch when she realized what she had been called. "Wait…what?" she asked perplexed.

"Dinner," Elsa repeated, purposely ignoring the real question.

"I got that," Anna said exasperatedly. "But you called me 'Anna'."

"Our relationship is supposed to be one of mutual respect, Anna. I can show you that respect by calling you what you preferred to be called when I can. I just apologize that you can only be 'Anna' only when it's the two of us and only when we are in a private space," Elsa explained, meaning every word even though she knew it was going to cause her nothing but trouble.

Anna took that in and then got up from the couch. She crossed the floor in a couple of steps and enveloped her Master in a warm hug before the other woman knew what was happening. "Thank you, Master," she whispered.

Elsa awkwardly returned the hug, not used to touching people or having others invade her personal space. "Um, you're welcome," she replied, gingerly patting Anna on the back, hoping the girl would let go soon. Much to her relief, Anna did and they went into the kitchen

Dinner was pleasant; both women kept the conversation light and Anna found out that her Master was an excellent cook. Sporadic jingles could be heard coming from various rooms, and Anna found herself happier than she had been for a very long time. She was enjoying herself so much that she deeply resented the chimes of the clock that eventually insisted that she say goodbye, go home and get some sleep. Elsa noticed Anna's fatigue. "I am not kicking you out, but you should really go back to your quarters and get some rest, Anna," Elsa admonished.

"Yeah, I should," Anna agreed reluctantly. She got up from the couch they had migrated to after dinner, gathered up her Initiation gifts and stretched a bit before heading to the door. "I had a really great time," she said sincerely and gratefully. Good night, Master."

Wincing at the formality of her title after such a congenial evening, Elsa looked at Anna's happy, expressive face, sighed internally and took the last step over the line into utter stupidity and potential destruction. "My real name is Elsa," she said quietly, surrendering to the reality that she wanted to be friends with this girl.

Anna's smile was dazzling. "It is very nice to meet you, Elsa," she said, her voice giddy with her happiness at this unexpected gift. She was going to say more but was interrupted by faint jingles and a loud crash. "I'm sorry," she said automatically, knowing it was her gift that caused it.

"It's okay," Elsa assured her. "He's gets away with everything around here because I coddle him too much. It was really sweet of you to think of him, though."

Once again, Anna's mouth kicked in before her mind could catch up and tell her to stop. "Well they do say that the way to a woman's heart is through her pussy…" she jokingly began and Elsa's eyebrow rose. "…cat. Her cat," she finished quickly. Now bright red and completely embarrassed, she pushed opened the door. "If you don't see me at work tomorrow, it's because I have died of embarrassment," she sighed. "Good night, Master," she said again before slipping out into the darkened hallway.

Elsa watched her go, wondering what in the hell she had gotten herself into as her face spread out in a wry grin and actual laughter bubbled from her chest for the first time in forever. Still chuckling, she called for her cat. "Come on, Olaf; it's time for bed," she said, the smile still on her face.


	3. Inconvenient Truths

Chapter 3 – Inconvenient Truths

Elsa smirked as she left a trail of reddish marks on Anna's pale neck, knowing Anna would have to wear the turtleneck with her uniform suit for the next couple of days. Anna whimpered and Elsa reached for the buttons on Anna's uniform blouse, opening the buttons one by one until an expanse of pale, yet freckled skin lay out before her. She moved downward, taking her time, tasting every bit of the skin, and Anna whimpered again, wanting her to go faster. The smirk returned, and Elsa reached for the fastenings to Anna's bra, only to be stopped when her communicator cuff chimed loudly, waking her up instantly.

Elsa sat up in bed, her heart racing from her abrupt awakening as well as the subject of her dream. She took a breath to calm herself and then slumped back on the pillows. "The Pillars damn it," she muttered, "these dreams are becoming far too frequent." She used her power to cool herself down, chastising herself even as she wished the cuff hadn't woken her up.

This was the danger she had foreseen when she had decided she wanted to become friends with her Apprentice; that she would actually like her and that like would evolve into something more. At work, they were still Master and Apprentice, and Elsa's cold rigidity and Anna's awkward bumbling had not changed much. But after work, more and more often, they could be found in each other's quarters, having dinner, talking and to Elsa's dismay, becoming closer and closer. The speed at which they had become best friends had surprised them both; being completely opposite in personality and background, there didn't seem to be much common ground on which to start a friendship. But Anna was a talker, Elsa was a listener and this provided the perfect dynamic for them to become almost inseparable outside of work. And, even though she mostly listened, Elsa found herself revealing more and more, and if something didn't change soon, she was going to put herself in real danger.

Elsa sighed and got up from bed, still thinking. A part of her wanted to surrender to what she felt for Anna, knowing that Anna would be more than happy to further their relationship. Anna had never been difficult for Elsa to read, and it was clear to Elsa that Anna was falling for her as fast as she had fallen for Anna. They would have to find a way to make it work, though; Plebes were not allowed to be in romantic relationships and were separated and punished for it. But even still, there were couples that managed to evade detection. Elsa knew they could be one of those couples, especially since they already had a pre-existing relationship.

But was that fair to Anna, she thought as she stepped into the shower. Even if Anna was okay with a forbidden relationship, there was still Elsa's other life that had to be considered. Elsa was good, maybe even the best at what she did when she was the Ice Queen, but she was realistic enough to know that the State was going to catch her eventually. She was one person going against a vast bureaucracy and they had resources that she couldn't even dream about. She would stumble, they would pounce, and then it was all over. She would be outed as an Extraordinary, one of those non-human things that had caused the Great Destruction. This fact, and her crimes, would mean her death, and Anna would have to live through it all. Elsa could hardly see how it would be fair to ask that of Anna.

Her other option would be to give Anna the choice, she realized. Elsa could tell Anna who she really was, and then let Anna decide if she wanted to be with her. But that thought terrified Elsa for two reasons. One, Anna might be horrified, reject her and turn her in, and two, in an even worse scenario, Anna might be willing to support her and then she would sentence Anna to death by making her guilty by association. Elsa sighed again as she finished getting ready, knowing there were no easy answers. Her cuff chimed, and she looked down. "Coffee?" it read.

"Please," she replied, her heart warming a little at Anna's usual thoughtfulness as she headed out the door.

Anna smiled at the simple response as she looked down at her communicator cuff. There was no order, no other information, just a please. Yeah, it was just coffee, she thought, but it made her happy to know that she knew Elsa well enough now to know what her coffee order would be. Knowing anything about her reticent Master was an accomplishment; Anna knew it and she treasured the friendship that allowed her to know so much about a person that few people knew anything about. She should be happy with that friendship, she mused as her front door closed and she headed towards the coffee shop. But, she knew that she wasn't. She wanted more, so much more, which was why she always texted in the morning and never called. If she called, then she might see an imperfect Elsa, an Elsa that still had mussed hair and sleep in her eyes, an Elsa that she was desperate to know. Anna wanted so badly to see the imperfect Elsa, wanted so badly to be the one to wake up beside of her, naked, not naked; it didn't matter. The intimacy, the love, was what Anna had craved all of her life, and she was so close to it, but it remained out of her grasp. She couldn't torture herself by seeing what she was missing, so hence she texted, never called.

Anna gave the cashier their drink orders, paid and went to the other side to wait for their drinks. It wouldn't be so frustrating, she mused, if there weren't such tantalizing hints that Elsa felt the same way. It wasn't often, but there were times that Anna could have sworn that she saw a look or felt a touch, but when she looked again, it was gone and the friendly yet guarded Elsa was back. Anna had no idea what Elsa was hiding, but Anna wanted to make her Master see that she had nothing to fear. Anna didn't care that they would be breaking the rules. She had friends, the Chef and the Actress in particular, who had been in a relationship for years and has managed not to get separated. Anna knew that if those two could manage it, she and Elsa could. The drinks came up and Anna put them in a carrier, her good humor returning at the thought of being with Elsa. Maybe, just maybe, today would be the day that something would change and her Master would surprise her.

Elsa looked up as the door opened and her Apprentice came in with a welcome tray of caffeinated beverages. "Good Morning, Master," Anna said cheerfully as she tugged the cup out of the tray and set it on Elsa's desk.

"Good Morning, Apprentice," Elsa replied, taking the cup and sipping the hot, super sweet liquid. She liked no milk but a lot of sugar in her coffee, and Anna had made it perfectly. "Thank you," she said, raising the cup in salute.

"It's no problem; you know that, Master," Anna said sincerely.

"And it's no problem for me to thank you," Elsa countered good-naturedly. She brought out her tablet and looked at their to-do list. "We need the final plans for the off-Campus construction site printed by 5:00PM today. Groundbreaking is next week and the Patricians want to review them," she stated, and Anna typed it into her tablet. "If you get done with that, you also have the molecular biology building plans that you need to check the calculations on, and…" here Elsa paused, fixing Anna with a glare that made Anna redden in embarrassment, "…I still don't have any 3D models for any of your Initiation buildings. You have put that off far too long, Apprentice," she concluded sternly.

"I'm still building them, Master," Anna offered lamely.

"What, with matchsticks and glue?" Elsa challenged facetiously. "That project should have been done weeks ago and you know it."

"Yes, Master," Anna replied, torn between snickering at her Master's sarcasm and being chastened by her tone. "I'll get to work," she said. Elsa nodded and they both set to work, easily moving into the familiar rhythm that defined most of their days now.

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

Anna stretched and glanced at the clock, surprised when it read 5:30PM. She had finished printing the plans for the off-Campus building about an hour and a half ago and had handed them off to her Master, who in turn had scrutinized them and sent them off with the Office Assistant to be delivered to the Patricians at the Great Hall. She had been working on her building calculations ever since, but with her Philosophy Club meeting looming, she needed to get going now that the pressing work had been finished. She opened her mouth to ask permission from her Master to leave, but before she could say anything, Elsa spoke.

"Don't you need to get going, Apprentice?" she asked, never looking away from her computer screen. "I thought tonight was Philosophy Club."

"It is, Master," Anna answered. "May I have permission to leave?"

"Of course," Elsa replied. "I'll see you in the morning, Apprentice."

"Thank you, Master," Anna replied happily. She gathered up her things. "Good evening, Master," she said, waiting by the door. Elsa looked up from her computer, and her wry grin and shooing hand gesture made Anna's grin widen as she bounced out the door.

Elsa watched her go, and the smile grew wistful. Anna loved Philosophy Club, and from what Elsa had heard (and she had heard a lot), it was due to the fact that it was primarily made up of the Plebian children-now young adults-that Anna had grown up with in the dormitories. They added and lost a few new members each year as former Proletariats became Plebian and former Plebes failed the Test and became Proletariat, but the core group remained the same. Besides, Anna, as friendly as she was, loved the new additions almost as much as her oldest friends. The club was one of the few things, besides the traitorous Olaf, that Elsa knew for a fact Anna adored, so Elsa always knew when it was meeting and always made sure Anna was available to go.

That also meant Elsa was free tonight, as there would be no Apprentice showing up semi-unexpectedly at her door, so she had planned for the Ice Queen's return. The Ice Queen's movements had to be random; Security was trained to pick up on any patterns, so she was constantly varying everything about her attacks. The days were never the same; she never bought the clothes for her missions in any regular pattern and she used unremarkable pieces of clothing; and, probably, most importantly, she never accessed the blueprints for buildings she was targeting unless her office was working on something directly related to it. She had been planning for a while and had meticulously planned three separate sabotages; so tonight, she had her choice of three things to destroy: the data servers, the communications grid or the camera system.

The data servers would be her first choice; they were the easiest to access and the easiest to destroy. However, they were also the item with most redundancy, meaning that whatever was contained on them had multiple backups at off-Campus locations, so the real damage would be negligible. The destruction of the communications grid would render the cuffs inoperable and make tracking everyone impossible, but again, it would only be for a short time as the redundant systems would kick in and everything would be back to normal. The only real thing to be gained from either of these missions would be the pride at having done them.

That left those fucking cameras, Elsa thought. The cameras were everywhere outside; there was literally nowhere outdoors on Campus that you could not be seen by one of them. The inside was almost as bad, but the State swore that private quarters were just that, private, and that there were no cameras in anyone's quarters. The only reason that Elsa believed them was because she often displayed her powers in her quarters and she hadn't been arrested yet. Elsa let out a short sigh, thinking. The cameras seemed to be her best option, and the more she thought about it, the more she liked the idea. With the cameras gone and security unable to track her, she could give the Campus a real taste of the scope of her powers, out in the open, where usually even she couldn't avoid camera detection. Meaningful destruction of State property and a vivid display of her talents would be powerful messages to send.

Satisfied with her plans, Elsa gathered up her things and got ready to leave. As always, she would have to wait until dark, so until then, she would follow her normal, Anna-less routine. She left the office and went to the Marketplace for food, randomly picking one of the myriad selections. She was handed something in a bag, she paid and she left, walking back to her quarters and sighing in relief when the door slid shut behind her.

Olaf bounded into the room at the sound of the door and jumped up on the couch back. He looked at Elsa as she went into the kitchen to put down her food, took an interested sniff towards the bag and then promptly turned his attentions back towards the door. "She's not coming tonight, so you can stop looking," Elsa told him, as she set out the cartons and got out a plate. Olaf glanced over at the sound of her voice and then looked back towards the door. Elsa sighed in amused frustration as she portioned out her dinner. "You're my cat; you know that right?" she asked wryly, bringing her now full plate over to couch and sitting down. Olaf jumped down to the cushions, and curled up beside her, finally convinced that his other favorite human wasn't coming. Elsa scratched his ears and he started purring. "It's okay, puffball," she said, turning her attention to her dinner, "I miss her when she's not here too."

She flipped on her tablet and read as she ate, gathering whatever information the State saw fit to give them that day. The light faded from outside her windows as she did so, and about the time she was done with her food and her reading, it had disappeared entirely. She rose from the couch and went into the kitchen, cleaning up her plate and her leftovers before heading off into her bedroom to get ready.

Of all the ways that she had to prepare for her missions, getting rid of her implanted biometrics chip was always what took the most concentration. She closed her eyes and stood perfectly still in the center of her bedroom, focusing all of her mental effort into finding the small dead piece of silicon that did not belong amongst the vibrantly living cells of her body. This part had taken hours the first time she had done this, but now, she knew where it was and the process went much quicker. She found it, and encased it in a very thin layer of ice to protect it from the body systems that it would have to travel through. Then, with utmost care, she used a small puff of frost to dislodge it. When it was free, she continued using the puffs to guide it to the lymph system, whose slightly larger ducting system allowed the chip to move.

Once in the lymphatic system, she used the frost to guide it upwards, past the vein it was supposed to drain into and towards her tonsils. Once there, a few more puffs, a slight gag, and the chip was lying on her tongue. She opened her mouth, picked it up and thawed out the ice that surrounded it. She went to her dresser, where a special box of her own design waited, a box that would fool the chip into thinking that it was still nestled in her body. Compared to the chip, the communications and tracking cuff was easy. A thin layer of ice underneath it expanded it enough for Elsa to get her hand through without opening it, as opening it triggered its alarm, and she slipped it off, placing it in beside the chip box on her dresser.

Elsa took a deep breath, savoring the rare moment of being truly free. She had no chip to send her vitals to the State computer, no cuff to tell the State where she was. She could go anywhere and do anything and it was exhilarating. But, it was temporary; she knew it and the exhilaration faded. If she was gone too long, they would look for her. When they couldn't find her, they would find anyone she was close to and execute them as an example. It was this knowledge that made her slip into her Ice Queen clothes, remove the grate above the bed in her bedroom and use the vents and tunnels she knew so well to make her way towards sabotage instead of freedom.

Elsa dropped down into the control center for the camera system, noting with irony that there were no cameras in here. Rock-hard ice balls projected at the backs of the technicians' heads knocked them out without a sound, and Elsa was left alone to do what she wanted. She iced up all of the panels, causing them to crack open with a satisfying snap before conjuring a small blizzard to drive circuit-frying snow into the farthest recesses of the equipment. With wires popping, snapping and sparking all around her, she coaxed several of her ice spikes into existence, driving each one into critical areas like switches and data storage centers. Everything in the room went black as all of the equipment died a rapid death, and with a smirk, Elsa disappeared back up the vent.

Now was the time in her missions where Elsa usually scurried back to her quarters, avoiding the inside cameras with a skillful precision that was breathtaking. Tonight, though, she had other plans, using her vent to find passage to the outside. She kicked off the outer cover and emerged, standing before the building that she had just done irreparable damage to. It was much too plain, she decided, and summoned her powers to provide some embellishments. After a few minutes, she was pleased with her success and stepped back to admire her handiwork. It was beautiful, all high arches and icy spires decorated with inlaid snowflake patterns.

Elsa smiled, but then frowned as she looked down into her hands. Yes, the structure was impressive and it would send the message she wanted to send. But, Elsa realized, she didn't want to waste her talents on the State. She didn't want to give them anything beautiful, even if it was as a rebellious message. If she were honest with herself, there was only one person she wanted to create beauty for. Elsa looked up at the structure and debated destroying it, but decided it would take too much time. She needed to talk to someone, and to do that she needed her cuff, meaning needed to get back to her quarters as soon as possible.

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

Anna traipsed along the path from the Library that led back to the Plebian quarters, happy and slightly irritated all at once. She loved going to Philosophy Club, but tonight they had gotten little-to-no philosophizing done because all of the other members, Debutante and Blondie especially, had been too busy teasing her. The teasing had started because Anna had not done any of the preparation that she was supposed to have done for the Club and she hadn't been doing it for quite a while. Anna blamed distraction and busyness at work, but the other girls, knowing how Anna felt about her Master and how much time they were spending together, blamed something else entirely. Anna had turned bright red and denied it, but of course that had given her away and the teasing had become relentless. It had all been in good fun, but Anna was still slightly red and still slightly embarrassed even as she walked home.

Thoughts of the meeting made her thoughts turn to her Master, and Anna glanced at her cuff, seeing if it was too late to text and say good night. It wasn't, so Anna pushed the button and texted Elsa, waiting for the reply that always came back promptly. It didn't come though, so Anna sent it again, thinking she might have made a mistake. There was still no response, so Anna reluctantly called, her concern about Elsa's unusual silence overriding her dislike of calling her. It rang several times and then went to voicemail, disquieting Anna even more.

Anna continued walking, trying to convince herself that Elsa was fine. Maybe her Master just had a date or something, she reasoned. Finding that thought did nothing to help her mood, Anna tried calling once more and still got no answer. Having reached her destination, Anna paced outside of her building for a couple of seconds before turning around and heading towards Elsa's building. She was acting like a stalker, and her Master might get mad at her, but Anna couldn't shake the feeling that something was off.

Anna checked in with the guard, who knew her and waved her through with a smile. She waved back and hopped in the elevator, bouncing from foot to foot in her impatience. The elevator door dinged and Anna exited, practically running down the hallway to Elsa's door. She rang the bell and waited, but several long moments passed and there was no kind of sound from the inside. Anna tried calling again, and this time, she could hear what had to be Elsa's cuff chiming from somewhere behind the door. Now too freaked out to think of any explanations that didn't involve Elsa incapacitated on the floor, Anna punched the access code Elsa had given her for emergencies into the panel and the door slid obediently open.

"Elsa?" Anna questioned loudly. "I'm sorry, but you weren't answering your cuff, and I was worried, and I guess I had to see that you were all right," she said in a rush to the darkened room, growing more worried when there was no answer. A noise rustled behind her and she turned quickly, only to see Olaf at her feet. "Hey sweetie," Anna said, relieved to see someone. He rubbed against her leg, and she reached down to stroke him. "Where's your mommy?" she asked rhetorically, standing up.

Well, it was clear Elsa wasn't in here, Anna thought and she went down the hall peeking in every room until she came into the bedroom. Elsa wasn't in there either, but Anna's eyes grew wide when she saw the cuff that was lying on the dresser. Your cuff was put on you the day you became Plebian and it was supposed to stay on you until the day you were cremated. Anna had never heard of anyone successfully taking it off, and if Elsa wasn't wearing hers, the implications were as mind-blowing as the consequences were staggering. She went over and gingerly picked it up, checking for her messages to confirm this cuff belonged to her Master. They were there, and Anna robotically put it back on the dresser as her mind tried to process what she had found and what it might be telling her about her beloved Elsa.

A noise sounded from above her head, and Anna jumped back, startled out of her reverie. Olaf, who had soundlessly joined her, jumped back too, and she stumbled over him, trying to find a place to hide from whatever it was, her mind still spinning from her discovery and her thoughts not resembling anything like coherence. The walk-in closet was the closest and easiest thing, so she dashed into it, trying to get her thoughts under control.

Anna took a deep breath to calm herself, and in doing so, inhaled the unmistakable scent of Elsa that clung to the clothes in her closet. Amazingly, especially considering it was her Master who had caused her panic, the scent calmed Anna considerably and she simply sat there for a few moments, letting the anxiety ebb out of her. Feeling much better if perhaps a little foolish, she stood up to return to the bedroom when a vent on the ceiling popped open and her Master dropped soundlessly from it on to the floor in her bedroom.

Even though she was in a hurry, Elsa would not jeopardize herself by being stupid. She froze her clothes off as she usually did, making sure that every fiber was obliterated by ice particles before she gathered up the rags and deposited them down the incinerator chute. She walked to her dresser and retrieved her chip, swallowing it and sending it on its frosty journey back to where it belonged. Once it was back in place, she reached for her cuff and frowned in concern when she saw the number of messages from Anna. She expanded it enough to get her hand through and slipped it back on, typing a message to her Apprentice as soon as it was in its prescribed spot on her wrist.

Anna nearly tumbled right out of the closet when she felt her arm buzz. She had only begun to calm down when Elsa had dropped out of the roof, and the sight of Elsa's clothes disappearing into a heap leaving her clad only in her underwear had not helped. Anna had tried so very hard not to stare; now was so not the time considering she had come into her Master's quarters uninvited, she had found something she was not supposed to find, and she was hiding in her Master's closet like a stalkery creeper. But the Pillars help her, reality was so much better than her imagination that she couldn't look away, and it was only the vibration on her wrist that startled her enough to snap her out of it. She shook her head and looked down.

"I'm sorry I didn't respond earlier, Apprentice," it read. "My cuff was on silent and I fell asleep on the couch. I didn't mean to worry you."

Anna, seeing Elsa's face and knowing the last part was sincere even if the first part was a lie, typed back. "It's okay, Master," she replied. "You don't have to answer to me. I just thought I would say goodnight."

Anna's reply made Elsa pause. Even though it was typed, it seemed more pointed and melancholy than was typical for Anna. Or, maybe she was just stressed and overthinking it, her logical side pointed out. Elsa sighed, taking one last moment to ponder her decision before committing to it entirely. She typed a message and went to her dresser to get herself some clothes.

From her place in the closet, Anna saw the indecision and looked down curiously when the message came through. "Are you tired?" the cuff read. "Would you be willing to meet me at the off-Campus construction site in about half an hour? I have something that I need to show you and talk to you about."

Anna didn't hesitate. "Of course, Master," she typed back promptly, even though she was still processing and trying to figure out all of the odd things she had witnessed tonight. If Elsa needed her to be there, she was going to be there. It was as simple as that.

Elsa smiled at the quick response, slipping on her clothes and shoes and heading for the door. She hoped a half an hour would be enough. Anna watched her go, and when she was sure Elsa was out of her quarters, Anna left the closet and sat on the bed to think. Anna thought about it all, everything that she had seen tonight and everything that she had learned about Elsa over the months that she had been working with her. Even though she had a reputation for being "distracted", Anna had remained Plebian for a reason, and it took her no time at all to snap all of the pieces together. There was one piece of information that would confirm her hypothesis, though, and she knew exactly who to get it from. She activated her cuff, this time on a secret frequency that couldn't be traced or tracked, a frequency that a select few had access to. "Leader, this is Ginger. Please respond," she requested.

"This is Leader," a disembodied voice replied. "Why are you calling on this frequency, Ginger?"

"I need some sensitive information," Anna stated. "Have there been any incidents reported about possible Ice Queen activity tonight?"

"Intel is coming in that the camera system has been rendered inoperable and the building housing it is surrounded by ice," Leader informed her. "But I heard about it seconds ago. How do you know already?"

Anna nodded. There was the last piece. "I believe I have learned the identity of the Ice Queen, Leader," she said.

There was a long pause. "That isn't funny, Ginger," an annoyed Leader said. "You know we have been trying to locate her for years."

"I know, and that's why I'm telling you that I've finally found her," Anna retorted.

Another long pause ticked by. "Are you in any danger? Do you need assistance in apprehending her?" Leader finally asked.

"If I was in danger, I wouldn't be chatting with you, now would I?" Anna pointed out, cheerfully feisty now that everything made so much sense and was coming together so perfectly. "And, no, I'll bring her in myself. It will be easier that way."

"Okay, but please be careful, Ginger," Leader instructed. "If I haven't heard from you in 8 hours, then I am sending someone after you."

"Understood. Ginger out," Anna replied. She cut off the communication, gave Olaf one last scratch behind the ears and took off for her much-anticipated appointment.

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

Elsa put the finishing touches on her designs and sat down in the snow to wait. She glanced at her cuff and noticed that it was close to the time she had told Anna to meet her. She couldn't help the stab of fear that coursed through her, and the wind and snow started swirling around her in response. She took a breath and the storm settled. Never in her life had she been this afraid. Fear was her enemy; fear made her weak because she was no longer in control, and Elsa hated not being in control. A familiar redhead crested the slight hill that surrounded the construction site and descended into the hollow that housed it. Elsa sighed and stood up.

Anna looked in awe at all of the beautiful things around her, all of them meticulously sculpted out of ice and snow. There were miniature castles filled with tiny ice people and meadows filled tiny ice deer, rabbits and skunks. There were recognizable buildings too, and Anna laughed in delight when she saw her four Initiation Buildings scattered among them. The miniature geodesic sphere was closest, and it was just about her height. She marveled at the detail and smiled wryly. Now that was a 3D model.

Leaving the sphere to find some open space to see, Anna looked around for Elsa and found her standing a few feet away on the side of the snow-covered hollow, looking at her with an unreadable expression. Anna smiled brightly and Elsa tentatively smiled back. Neither one said a word for a few moments, until Anna broke the silence. "This is all so beautiful, Master," she said sincerely. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"I couldn't, at least not until today," Elsa admitted.

Anna studied her, and Elsa saw her expression change from thoughtful to hopeful with a touch of the impish. "Well, I'm glad that you did," Anna stated happily. "I guess I just have one question for you, then, Master."

"And what might that be, Apprentice?" Elsa asked with cautious optimism.

"Do you wanna build a snowman?" Anna asked hopefully.

Elsa laughed, a sound that made Anna warm in spite of the snow. "Only you would ask that, Apprentice," Elsa said affectionately. "But yes, I'd love to."


	4. Unexpected Revelations

Chapter 4 – Unexpected Revelations

Elsa ducked unconcernedly as an errant snowball came flying at her head, and she returned fire without ever looking away from the snowman she was putting the finishing touches on. A loud splat sounded behind her after which Anna spat out a mouthful of snow and wiped her face, grinning. "That was a dumb idea, wasn't it?" she merrily admitted.

"Since I've controlled these powers since I was a toddler and you have the aim of an Apprentice Architect, yes, it wasn't your wisest move," Elsa agreed, smirking as she stepped back from their creation.

"Hey, you're an Architect, too," Anna pointed out, mildly offended at the assessment of her aiming skills.

"Yes, but I'm a Master Architect," Elsa countered, still smirking.

Anna looked at her wryly, debated about continuing the argument and decided she wanted to talk about something else instead. "So, speaking of those powers, how do they work?" she asked, unexpectedly capturing one of Elsa's hands at the wrist and staring at the fingertips interestedly.

"Give that back," Elsa ordered, trying to get her hand away.

Anna playfully held on for dear life. "Nope, not until you tell me how it works," she said jovially stubborn.

Elsa sighed in amused exasperation, feeling the unfamiliar emotion of happiness well up in her chest at Anna's antics. She could hardly believe that things were going so well; Anna, from the moment she had arrived, hadn't skipped a beat. There was no disbelief, no accusations, or fear on Anna's part, just her being her perky, hyperactive self. "Well, to be honest, I am not completely sure," Elsa admitted. "There is a genetic component of some sort, because it runs in the family, but we've all been sequenced and there is no one gene we can trace it to. It must have an epigenetic component as well."

"Thank you, Ms. Evasive, but I didn't ask where they came from. I asked how they work," Anna teased, tugging on Elsa's fingers.

"And again, I don't really know," Elsa answered, impressed that Anna had called her out on her non-answer. "It does have to do a bit with my emotions. If they are out of control for good or bad reasons, then my power can be unpredictable. If my emotions are all under control, then it is just a matter of me willing snow and ice to either come into existence or do what I want it to. I don't know what happens from my mind to my hands."

"Is that how you created everything here?" Anna asked, impressed. "You just thought of it, waved your hands, and boom?"

"Pretty much," Elsa confirmed.

"Wow," Anna said succinctly. She examined the hand some more, but she noticed Elsa getting more uncomfortable the closer her hand moved to certain areas of Anna. "Does something happen if you accidentally freeze parts of me?" Anna asked. "You seem nervous when I have your hand near certain spots."

Elsa nodded. "If I freeze here…" she began, laying two fingers on Anna's forehead, "…or here…" she continued, placing her hand over Anna's heart, "…then you would grow colder and colder until you froze completely from the inside out, turning into an incredibly detailed ice sculpture."

Anna's eyes grew wide. "Well, okay then. I will try to avoid that if possible," she decided. "It would be a horrible, yet beautiful way to die, though," she mused.

Elsa studied her, not knowing what that statement signified. She took a deep breath and asked the question she had wanted to since Anna crested the hill. "Are you really okay with all of this?" she asked tentatively.

Anna looked at her curiously. "All of what?" she questioned.

"This," Elsa replied, taking her hand back from Anna and gesturing to the frozen wonderland around them. "And this," she continued, flicking her wrists and making snow appear above her palms.

"Yes. Why wouldn't I be?" Anna asked, looking a bit puzzled by the question.

"Because of who it makes me?" Elsa offered.

Anna's brow contracted briefly in thought before relaxing, and her eyes visibly warmed when she looked at Elsa. "Your powers don't 'make' you anything different, at least not to me," she said, meaning it with all of her heart. "You are already so many different people. You're a Plebe, one of the most exceptional that ever lived, according to the State; you're a Master Architect, one of the most brilliant ever seen according to everyone in our Thread; you're the Untouchable that nobody is able to get close to, according to everyone on Campus. Now it seems I have to add your being an Extraordinary with ice powers and a Saboteur to the list. But all those titles don't mean a thing to me, because apart from all of that, you are Elsa, and Elsa is the only person that I care about."

"But how can you know who Elsa is when I'm not sure I know myself?" Elsa challenged quietly.

"Because I see her every day," Anna answered matter-of-factly. "I see her when she patiently explains something for the thousandth time. I see her when she throws a jingle ball into a pristine living space and laughs when her cat knocks something over, just because she loves him that much. I see her when even in the midst of a huge deadline, she manages to know my schedule better than I do myself and makes sure I can go to my Philosophy Club meetings. And I know I see her each and every time she calls me Anna, because Elsa is the only person who ever does that without me asking. She knows how much it means to me, and that's good enough for her." Anna reached out her hands and gently took Elsa's, trying to pick her words carefully for once. She needed to say one last thing, and she didn't want to mess it up. "I love you, Elsa, which I think you knew, but beyond that, I'm in love with you, too, which knowing how well you read me, you probably knew too, so I don't care if you become Patrician or obliterate the Oligarchy, I'm still going to see you as Elsa and I will still love you. Probably until the end of time, or something close, because I'm kind of stubborn when I need to be," Anna finished in a rush, hoping she hadn't just completely messed things up.

Elsa looked at Anna's expressive face, searching for any sign of deceit or trickery. There was nothing to be found except honesty, though, and Elsa let herself start believing that this might all be real. She opened her mouth to say something, thought better of it, and said something else instead. "Would you like to help me remove the snow?" she asked.

Anna blinked. Those weren't exactly the words she had been expecting to come out of Elsa's mouth. "Um, sure?" she replied, "but do we really have to destroy it? It's so pretty."

"We are both wearing our cuffs and the State will know we've been here," Elsa explained. "If we leave it, they'll find us both almost immediately."

Anna didn't like it, but she knew Elsa was right. "You're right," she said reluctantly. "How do we remove it?"

"There are a couple of ways," Elsa responded. "But with what you just told me, this is probably the fastest." She guided Anna's hands to the back of her neck and slipped her own around Anna's slender waist, drawing them closer than they had ever been. Before Anna could comment, Elsa closed the distance between them and brought her lips to Anna's, smirking slightly at Anna's squeak of surprise. As Anna melted into Elsa and the kiss deepened, the snow and ice all around them started to rise, travelling further up in the atmosphere and gathering itself into a large, embellished snowflake. Only when the last of the snow, frost and ice was gone did the snowflake dissipate, and only then did Elsa gently pull away from Anna.

As their kiss slowly ended and Anna came back to reality, a random question popped out of her mouth of its own accord. "Kissing makes the snow go away?" she asked incredulously, looking around at the now bare construction site in a bit of a kiss-induced haze.

"No. Love makes the snow go away," Elsa corrected. "Kissing is just the outward physical manifestation of it."

"Oh, I guess that makes sense," Anna responded, nodding, before really hearing what Elsa had said. "Wait…what?"

"Love makes the snow and ice go away," Elsa repeated softly, her eyes never leaving Anna's.

"Then that means…" Anna prompted with a small smile on her face.

"…that I am in love with you, too," Elsa confirmed, returning the smile, and blushing slightly.

They stood there for a few moments with their arms around each other, each of the women appreciating the moment for what it was and committing it to memory. After a minute or two, though, Anna grew restless, and her smile widened as the impish gleam Elsa knew so well appeared. "Oh, hey, look," Anna said, peering over Elsa's shoulder, "I think I still see some snow over there."

"There's no more snow," Elsa stated evenly, knowing where this was going.

"No, really, there is," Anna protested, even though she couldn't quite keep the smirk off her face.

"No, there's not," Elsa contradicted, shaking her head. "You're horrible at lying and I know when there's snow around. If you want to kiss me, just kiss me."

"Okay," Anna replied, using the hands she still had wrapped around the back of Elsa's neck to bring Elsa's mouth to her own.

With Anna no longer surprised and Elsa no longer using the kiss for snow removal, their second kiss became much more intense much more quickly than their first one had. All of the sensations that Elsa had experienced in her more erotic dreams about Anna were even more intense, and the unabashed lust for Elsa that Anna had reigned in due to their friendship was completely set free. Their bodies pressed closer and hands started to wander, but just as Elsa was about to see if reality was as good as her dreams, a large horn sounded from the direction of the Campus, freezing them both and breaking off their kiss.

"Shit," Anna cursed, trying to catch her breath.

"That's probably my doing," Elsa said, equally breathless and disappointed. "I destroyed the cameras and with the cameras out, they want the Campus on lockdown."

"We could just stay here," Anna offered.

"And get arrested for something as trivial as a lockdown violation?" Elsa asked. "No thanks. When I get arrested, it will be for something big."

Anna chuckled in spite of her annoyance. "No, Master, with who you are, that wouldn't suit you," she agreed. "Should we head back?"

"We have to," Elsa sighed.

They let go of each other, but as they turned to cross the construction site, Anna recaptured one of Elsa's hands and intertwined their fingers. Elsa looked at her curiously, but Anna just smiled broadly. Shaking her head, but smiling anyway, Elsa let Anna have possession and hand-in-hand they walked back towards the Campus.

The closer they got, though, the more the guilt began to weigh on Anna. Elsa had revealed a big part of herself tonight, and Anna knew that it was only because of the trust that they had built up over the last few months. Though they were not at quite the same level as being the Ice Queen, Anna did have secrets of her own and she had guarded them. Now, keeping her secrets seemed like a violation of that trust, and Anna decided that she wanted to keep the trust intact more than her secrets. Spilling her guts would be a risk, of course, but with whom she now knew Elsa to be, it might just be okay.

Elsa glanced at Anna in concern. Anna was being much too quiet and it worried her, especially after all that had happened between them that night. "Is everything okay, Apprentice?" she asked, switching back to their formal titles now that they were back on Campus.

"No, Master," Anna admitted.

"Then what can I do to help?" Elsa inquired.

"With everything that you've told me tonight, there are things I need to tell you," Anna said quietly. "Would you be willing to come over to my quarters and just listen to me talk for a while?"

"Sure, because that would be so different from what I usually do," Elsa said wryly, trying to use humor to cover up how apprehensive she was about how Anna was acting and what her open-book Apprentice could possibly be hiding.

"Thank you," Anna replied, before perking up. "Wait. Was that an actual joke?" she asked, her humor returning just a bit. Elsa just smiled and shrugged. "I love you, Master," Anna said gratefully, hugging her unexpectedly as they reached her building and turned toward her quarters. Elsa hugged her back, and the rest of the journey was made in silence.

Now seated comfortably on Anna's couch, Elsa waited patiently for the information that Anna was obviously terrified yet compelled to tell her. Anna looked at Elsa nervously and began. "I guess I could start with what happened before I met you tonight," Anna said. "You noticed all the messages from me, right?" Elsa nodded, wanting to let Anna keep speaking. "Well, when you didn't respond, I got worried and I went to your quarters to check on you. When you didn't answer and I could hear your cuff chiming through the door, I used my code to get in because I was sure that you were in trouble. That's when I saw your cuff lying on the dresser, which completely freaked me out. Then, I heard a noise in the ceiling and freaked out some more, so I ended up hiding in your closet. From that closet I saw everything that happened when you got home and that led me to the conclusion that you were the Ice Queen," she concluded.

Elsa looked at her, and if it had been anyone but Anna, the story would have been completely implausible and Elsa would have thought Anna was trying to invade her privacy. But, her Apprentice had just the right mix of good intentions, impulse control problems and general awkwardness for the scenario to have worked. "So you knew who I was when you came to the construction site?" she asked.

"I was pretty sure, yes," Anna admitted. "But I told you I was coming before I figured it out." She looked at the ground. "I'm sorry, Elsa; I was just worried about you. I never meant to invade your privacy and I really never meant to find out what you didn't want me to know," she said contritely.

"Except that I did want you to know, and I invited you to the construction site to tell you," Elsa pointed out. "So I can't really see why this is such a big deal. It might have been yesterday, but not tonight, not now. And what did I tell you about apologizing?" she chided.

"Learn from your mistakes, don't repeat them, but never ever apologize," Anna recited.

Elsa smiled. "Very nice," Elsa complimented her. "I do appreciate you telling me, though, Anna," she said.

That had gone much better than expected, Anna mused, but tonight's little escapade was not the main thing she had needed to tell Elsa about. "Um, it's no problem, Master, but there's something else," she said reluctantly.

"Okay," Elsa prompted, wondering what else Anna might be hiding.

Anna looked at her, took about thirty seconds to debate a thousand different ways to say what she needed to say before she just blurted it out as simply as she could. "Um, I'm a spy and I told my Leader that I knew who the Ice Queen was," she confessed, flopping down on the other end of the couch in relief now that she had confessed.

Elsa looked at her, processed the information and looked at her again, keeping her face expressionless. "Could you repeat that please?" she requested politely.

"I'm a spy and I told my Leader that I knew who the Ice Queen was?" Anna repeated.

"That's what I thought I heard," Elsa sighed, as the evening got even stranger. "Could you elaborate or is that all the information I get?"

"What do you want to know?" Anna asked, a little more cheerful now that Elsa just seemed interested, not mad or accusing.

"Well, who are you a spy for, for starters? What or whom are you spying on?" were the first questions. Elsa considered that last question and her eyes narrowed as she looked at Anna. "Me, since you've already told them about me?" she accused softly.

"No, no, no, no, no," Anna said emphatically. "I was never spying on you. Never. And I didn't tell her who you were, just that I knew who you were. I was never supposed to know anything about you. You actually kind of derailed my mission because I started spending so much time with you and I wasn't doing my spy stuff," she admitted sheepishly. "Leader was giving me a hard time about it at our last meeting, and the girls were teasing me because they knew it was because I had completely fallen for you."

"So who is 'Leader'? Who do you work for?" Elsa asked, still not sure how she felt about all this.

"Um, well, we don't have an official name, but I think you would call us 'the Rebellion' or 'the Resistance', or something like that," Anna answered. "Basically, we are a group of Plebes who detest the current State and want to do everything in our power to bring its downfall. We have infiltrated every single thread and are currently gathering information in preparation for the hopefully peaceful but probably not takeover of the government."

"And how do you fit into this?" Elsa asked, relieved that Anna wasn't a spy for the State. At least they were both on the same side.

"Well, after I took the test and passed, and Leader knew that I was going to remain Plebian, she made sure I would end up in Architecture because it was the one thread that we had no one assigned to. I had the drawing talents, but not the math, so she had Hacker break in to tweak the results. She also had me assigned to you, because you had such a reputation for working alone that she thought you would ignore me and I could gather the information I needed to," Anna explained.

"Which was?" Elsa questioned.

"Building blueprints and tech specs, mostly. Also anything else that would help us break into buildings," Anna responded. "But like I said, you were an awesome Master and wouldn't leave me alone, and I started liking Architecture and got distracted by all the pretty, so this whole thing hasn't quite worked out like Leader intended."

"Who is Leader, if you can tell me?" Elsa asked, mainly out of curiosity.

"She's the Master Librarian at the Campus library," Anna replied, figuring there was no point in keeping any secrets now.

"I know her," Elsa stated, after realizing who it had to be. "I've met her from time to time at State functions. She's a beauty but she's a funny girl. She's even odder than I am, if that's possible." She looked at Anna as a thought occurred to her. "Wait. Isn't she also Leader of the Philosophy Club?" she questioned.

"One and the same," Anna confirmed, blushing in embarrassment.

"Meaning this entire time I've been running myself ragged to make sure you could make it to your spy meetings," Elsa concluded.

"It's a social group, too!" Anna protested weakly.

Elsa shook her head in bemusement. "So you're a spy. The most honest, candid person that I have ever met in this fucked-up place is a spy," she said with a touch of resignation.

"I never lied to you," Anna countered quietly. "Like you said before, I'm a horrible liar, and you read me so well that it would have been pointless to try to lie to you anyway. Sure, I left a few things out, but then so did you. The woman that I thought was the model Plebe is an Extraordinary that goes around viciously destroying government property every chance she gets."

Elsa considered that and realized Anna had a point. "You're right," she admitted. "We've been keeping a lot of things from each other, including the fact that we're in love with each other. So, where do we go from here?"

"Well, as of right now, I don't have any more secrets to tell," Anna shrugged. "And all I really want to do is keep being your best friend and Apprentice." Anna tried to stop them, but her eyes filled up with tears anyway. "If that's not possible, though, I understand. I'm used to being alone," she mumbled.

Elsa hated to see Anna sad because it was so opposite to her true nature. She scooted over to Anna's side of the couch and wrapped her up in a hug. "Quit being stupid," she ordered gruffly, even as she felt Anna's tears soak through her shirt. "You couldn't stop being my Apprentice without a formal complaint and a hearing anyway," she pointed out dryly.

Hearing the implicit humor in her statement, Anna looked up. "Was that another joke?" she asked, sniffling as a watery smile came to her face.

"I don't know," Elsa admitted. "Was it actually funny?"

"It made me feel better," Anna answered.

"Then, yes, it was," Elsa decided, tightening her grip on Anna and kissing her forehead.

Anna returned the hug with fervor. "You're amazing," she mumbled into Elsa's chest.

"So are you," Elsa replied affectionately. Elsa really didn't know how, but Anna had become such a part of her life that, spy or no, Elsa couldn't even think of living without her. And when Anna had started crying at the thought of being alone again, well, the Ice Queen's frozen heart had melted into a puddle, and her decision was easy.

Elsa propped her back up against the couch arm and Anna snuggled into her, neither woman speaking, the both of them spent by the emotional upheaval of the evening. Anna's breathing began to even out, and within minutes, she had fallen asleep. Elsa looked at her. "A spy and a saboteur; what a pair we turned out to be," she whispered wryly, before kissing the top of Anna's head and falling asleep herself.

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

A darker-skinned woman stirred at the sound of the emergency alert from her cuff, blinking as she tried to wake up and focus. She peered sleepily at the cuff and sighed when she saw who it was. "Good morning, Leader," she drawled in an accent made thicker by sleep. "To what do we owe the pleasure of your company at such an early hour?"

"Voodoo Queen, good," Leader said over the speaker. "I'm glad that you answered. Ginger contacted me last night and said that she had managed to uncover the identity of the Ice Queen and that she was going to attempt communication with her. I haven't heard from her since, she's not answering my calls and her cuff tracks her to her quarters. Since you and Debutante are closest, I want you guys to go check up on her."

"Of course, Leader," the woman said, knowing it was important if Leader was this concerned. "We'll get going right away. Voodoo Queen out." She rolled over and kissed the smooth, creamy-white shoulder of the person lying beside her who was already awake and half-listening. "Come on, sugar. Leader says we have to go rescue Ginger," she nudged.

"What kind of trouble has that girl gotten herself into now?" the blonde mumbled.

"She's apparently found the Ice Queen," her bedmate informed her.

"Ginger found the Ice Queen? Our Ginger?" the blonde reiterated, incredulous.

"Yes, and apparently Leader hasn't heard from her in a while and she is afraid for her safety, so we have to go, Lottie," Tiana told her, rising from the bed in search of clothes.

"But Tia honey, I'm comfortable," Lottie protested, throwing the covers over her head petulantly.

Tiana sighed indulgently before peeling the sheet back. "I promise I'll make it up to you," she offered.

"I am only getting up if that promise involves you and a couple-dozen of your woman-catching beignets," Lottie informed her, a saucy grin coming to her face.

"Anything for my Debutante," Tiana assured her with a smile of her own.

"Then, my beloved Voodoo Queen, I am all yours. And Leader's and Ginger's, I guess," Lottie added after a moment's thought.

Tiana chuckled, dragging her out of bed. They gathered up their clothes and put them on, with Lottie stopping to admire herself before they went. "Do I look beautiful?" she asked playfully.

Tiana's eyes warmed looking at the woman whom she had loved before she even really knew what love was. "Gorgeous," she said truthfully.

"Psht, Big Daddy always said you were a charmer," Lottie said, duly charmed.

"And my Momma always said you were nothing but trouble," Tiana countered with a smirk.

"You know, I've always liked your Momma," Lottie said with a wink, and Tiana chuckled as they left their quarters.

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

Anna stirred a bit, waking slightly, and she shifted herself to get into a more comfortable position. The back of the couch prevented her, though, and she woke up a little more when she realized this wasn't her bed. A few more seconds of consciousness brought back memories of the evening before, and she realized who she might be sleeping on top of. That woke her up in a hurry, but when a quick inspection yielded nothing but the couch underneath her, she slumped back on the cushions, still a little disoriented by sleep and confused as to where Elsa was or why she might have left. Just then, though, the glorious smell of coffee, bacon and what could possibly be pancakes or waffles wafted in from the kitchen, and Anna's eyes popped open as she tumbled off the couch.

"Good morning, Anna," Elsa chuckled from her place at the stove.

"That smells wonderful," Anna said, taking in a noseful. She made a move towards the kitchen before realizing the bathroom might be a better destination. "Um, I'll be right back."

"Breakfast isn't for another 10 minutes or so," Elsa assured her. Anna nodded and dashed from the room.

As Elsa continued with her breakfast prep, a chime from the front door indicated that someone was there. She glanced at the bedroom, but figuring Anna might not be ready for company, she went to see who it was herself. She looked at the inside viewscreen and the two ladies on the other side looked harmless enough, so she pushed the button to open the door. "May I help you?" she asked evenly.

Tiana and Lottie looked at the striking woman who had opened the door and was casually inspecting them with piercing blue eyes. Tiana looked at Lottie and then up above the door. She was sure that they had the right unit number, but this obviously was not Ginger, and her bare feet and apron indicated the woman that had answered was supposed to be here. Tiana was also sure that she had seen the woman before. Nevertheless, thinking they had made a mistake, Tiana started to apologize. "I'm very sorry, ma'am," she apologized. "We thought that this was our friend's unit, and we were just stopping by to see her."

"It's okay; I don't really live here," Elsa said quickly, seeing the mortification on their faces at their supposed mistake. "This is my Apprentice's unit."

At the word "Apprentice", everything clicked for Tiana. "Of course. That's where I know you from; you're her Master, the Architect," she realized.

"That would be me, yes," Elsa confirmed. "My Apprentice is getting ready right now, but you two are welcome to come in and wait."

Tiana hesitated, but Lottie was not going anywhere without finding out all she could about this interesting situation. "Thank you, Master; that would be lovely," she said, speaking for the first time, careful to use the honorific of Master because she and Tiana were merely Thinkers and Elsa outranked them.

Elsa nodded and moved aside to let them in. "Please have a seat," she offered. "I'll go see if my Apprentice is ready," She went to the kitchen to briefly check on breakfast before heading to the bedroom. Tiana and Lottie looked at one another knowingly, shrugged and sat back to wait for Ginger.

As all this was going on, Anna freshened up a bit in her bathroom. She took care of the necessities before looking in the mirror and realizing her hair needed some work. She also wanted to kiss Elsa properly and there was no way Anna was going to subject her to her morning dog breath, so a teeth brushing soon followed. As Anna was brushing her teeth, she noticed her cuff blinking furiously, and after seeing who it was and spitting out her mouthful of toothpaste and water, she answered it.

"Good Morning, Leader!" she chirped, wiping off her mouth with her hand towel.

"Ginger! Where in the Pillars have you been? Why weren't you answering your cuff?" Leader demanded loudly.

"Um, I was in my quarters and I was asleep?" Anna offered meekly, hearing how upset Leader was.

Leader took a short, calming huff that was so loud Anna could hear it though the voice-only connection. "Are you okay?" Leader asked in a more normal tone of voice.

"I'm fine," Anna replied quickly.

"And what happened with the Ice Queen? Where is she?" Leader questioned.

"Um, she showed me her powers and they were spectacular," Anna answered. "And right now she is my kitchen making breakfast. I think she's making pancakes! Or waffles!" Anna finished excitedly.

There was a long pause at the other end of the line. "And why is she in your kitchen making breakfast?" Leader asked, knowing there was a vital piece of information she was missing here.

"Because she's amazing," Anna said with a love-struck grin that Leader couldn't see. "And she's an excellent cook."

"Who's an excellent cook?" Elsa asked as poked her head into the room. "Who are you talking to?" Anna pointed at her wrist, and Elsa nodded. "There are some friends of yours here to see you," she added in a low voice.

"Really?" Anna asked. Elsa nodded and headed back to the kitchen. "I've got to go, Leader. There are people here."

"I know; I asked them to check up on you because I couldn't get a hold of you," Leader replied curtly.

"Aw, you do care. I promise I'm all right," Anna promised her. "Anyway, breakfast is waiting. Talk to you later, Leader. Bye." She cut off the call, knowing she would get scolded for it later but not caring when she had a living room with actual, real live people and actual, real live breakfast. She exited her bedroom, glanced in the living room to see who was there and headed straight for the kitchen. Elsa turned towards her, her hands full of things to put on the table, when Anna surprised her by kissing her deeply. "I brushed my teeth, just for that," Anna murmured happily when they separated.

"Thank you for your courtesy," Elsa said wryly. "And thank you for the kiss. But, your friends are still on the couch and you need to take these to the table." She handed off a platter of bacon and pancakes to Anna who brought them to the table before going into the living room.

"Good morning!" she said perkily to her two friends sitting on the couch.

"So it would seem," Lottie said with a sly grin, and Tiana chuckled.

Anna blushed. "Um, yeah," she agreed, grinning self-effacingly even as she tried to stop blushing.

"Since my Apprentice seems to have forgotten her manners, would you two like to stay for breakfast?" Elsa inquired, as she put the coffee pot and juice pitcher on the table and came into the living room.

"I was getting to that, Master," Anna huffed. "Speaking of manners, have you guys been formally introduced?" she asked. At a round of head shakes, Anna did the honors. "Master, this is…" she began.

"Voodoo Queen and Debutante, unless I miss my guess," Elsa finished for her, a smile on her face at the all of the other ladies' surprise. "She talks a lot about Philosophy Club," she explained.

"She talks a lot period," Lottie teased. At Elsa's slight chuckle and Anna's glare, Lottie cleared her throat and moved on. "We are very pleased to make your acquaintance, Master, and we would love to stay for breakfast, but now that we know your Apprentice is in good hands, we have more pressing matters to attend to." She stood up and Tiana did the same. They headed towards the door and Anna gave each one of them a hug as the door opened.

"Thanks for coming, guys," Anna said sincerely. "It means a lot that you did that just for me."

"We love you, you know that, Ginger," Tiana said, hugging her back. She and Lottie stepped through the doorway and Anna smiled at them as the door slid shut.

"Well, it looks like Ginger finally got her wish," Lottie said gleefully.

"It does," Tiana agreed with a smile. "But Leader said she was with, you know," she said, not saying the name out loud for fear of surveillance, "and we find her this morning with her Master. Does that mean that her Master is, you know?"

Lottie's eyes widened at the possibility before chuckling. "Well if she is, and if she decides to join Philosophy Club, Leader will be singing hallelujah from the top of her lungs," Lottie predicted.

"That she will be," Tiana agreed. "Come on, sugar; we have to get to work," she reminded Lottie as they picked up their pace towards their quarters.

"So," Elsa began as they settled down to breakfast, "what was all that about?"

"Leader –who was the person I was bragging about your cooking to, by the way– was worried that I wasn't answering my cuff," Anna explained, piling bacon and pancakes onto her plate. "She sent them to make sure I was all right."

"Probably because you told her you knew who the Ice Queen was," Elsa pointed out. "She was worried about you."

"I know, I know, but with everything that happened last night, I forgot," Anna admitted.

"I can see it," Elsa said, before changing the subject. "Now eat your breakfast; we do have to get to work at some point today," she ordered good-naturedly.

Anna grinned. "Yes, Master," she said, squirting syrup on her pancakes and digging in. After a few bites, though, she paused. "Are we all right?" she asked plaintively. "I know I'm not who you thought I was, I know I've screwed up badly, and I know you have a lot reasons including your own safety to never trust me again. Are you really ok with all of this?"

Elsa smiled at the echo of her own words from the previous night. "I spent a lot of the night asking myself the same thing," she admitted. "But, when I asked you those words, you said yes without hesitation, and I know that you meant it. So, even though I have no idea what the future holds, and with everything that we both are, the future isn't bright, my answer is yes. If you are willing to love the Ice Queen when that could mean your death, then I am willing to love a spy when that could mean my own."

"I promise I won't keep anything more from you, Elsa," Anna swore, relieved. "And I will never, ever, betray you."

"I know, Anna, I know," Elsa assured her. "And I will do everything in my power to protect you." She got up from her side of the table and came around to Anna, reaching down to kiss her, to let her know that they truly were all right. When they parted, she kissed Anna's forehead and couldn't resist pointing out one thing. "You taste like syrup," she stated.

"And you taste like coffee," Anna rejoined giddily as she attacked her breakfast with vigor. Elsa picked up her own fork, leaving them in companionable silence until breakfast was finished.


	5. Bitter Realities

Chapter 5 – Bitter Realities

After Elsa left, Anna went running for her shower, knowing she had to hurry or she was going to be late. Breakfast had been wonderful, but for Anna, the best part had been the cleanup. They had cleared the table, washed dishes and chatted all the while, and the atmosphere was so warm, familiar and familial that Anna had wanted it to last forever. The kitchen was clean eventually, though, and Elsa needed to leave to get ready for work and to feed Olaf, so Anna had reluctantly let her go. She had tried one last time to convince Elsa to stay, rightly pointing out that the uniforms were all the same, that she and Elsa were about the same size, and that she had a spare, but Elsa had just smirked, kissed her, and told her "nice try, but if I do that, I have a feeling we would never get to work" before leaving.

Anna smiled to herself as she stepped into the shower. So, perhaps, her intentions were not the purest for trying to get Elsa to stay, but for the most part, Anna wasn't actually trying to seduce Elsa. She wanted to and planned to seduce Elsa, of course, but this morning, Anna had really just wanted Elsa to stay. Elsa wouldn't be late to work unless she was dead or dying, though, because according to the State, those were the only two legitimate reasons for missing or being late to work. Anna chuckled as she turned off the water and stepped from the shower. She had always thought that Elsa was so particular about the rules because she was just that much of a fine, upstanding Plebian. Now, however, Anna knew Elsa followed the stupid trivial rules so she wouldn't be under suspicion when she broke the stupid important ones.

Anna finished getting ready and checked her cuff for the time. They had already had coffee this morning, but Anna was in a particularly good mood, and she wanted to get her Master a surprise. Deciding she had enough time to at least swing by and see what the line looked like, Anna left her quarters and the door slid shut behind her. She exited her building and made her way towards the coffee shop, unable to keep an enormous, goofy grin off of her face. Her resting face was always cheerful, but this morning, it was unmistakably happy because Anna herself was happier than she had ever been. She had approached this level of happiness after figuring out Elsa was the Ice Queen, knowing that her perfect woman was even more perfect if she hated the State as much as Anna did. She had also come close to it walking into the gorgeous frozen spectacle that Elsa had created just for her, and then had come even closer when they had spent the time playing in the snow, kissing and declaring their love for each other. Now, though, Anna was happiest. There were no more secrets between them and their relationship had survived all confessions, so now they just had to navigate their uncertain future together. True, they were navigating through a world out to kill them both, but today, Anna refused to think about that. Today, she mused as she hopped into the manageably short line for coffee, today she just wanted to be happy.

Elsa strode into the Architecture building promptly at her usual time, her uniform crisp and her hair immaculate, exuding the cold authority that usually sent people scurrying the other way. She passed through the security scanner and gave the guard a curt nod before taking the elevator to her office suite. Once the elevator doors closed, Elsa breathed a sigh of relief and, hoping the cameras were still out, allowed the radiant smile she had been fighting all morning to finally emerge. Ice Queens, literal and figurative, weren't supposed to smile, so she had tried to tamp it down, but her euphoria had finally gotten the better of her and once alone, the smile had emerged unbidden. Watching the floors tick away and knowing she would scare her Office Assistant if she emerged from the elevator smiling, she carefully composed her face back into its stoic mask as the doors opened.

Her Office Assistant looked up nervously from his screen as she entered, and Elsa was instantly on alert. There was real fear in his jet black eyes, along with sympathy and worry that surprisingly seemed to be directed towards her. They had never been all that friendly; he was an Assistant, Elsa was a Master, and the difference in their ranks dictated that their relationship was one of strict, efficient professionalism and nothing more. Besides the requisite "Good Morning" and "Good Evening", every word that Elsa had ever spoken to him had been about work. Seeing him worried, and worried about her, made Elsa realize that something was very wrong.

"Good Morning, Assistant," she said.

"Good Morning, Master," he answered in a subdued tone.

"What do I not know?" Elsa asked simply.

He looked at her sadly. "There are a Master and a Thinker from the IRB in your office," he replied. "They wish to speak with you and the Apprentice."

With that answer, Elsa felt her happiness melt and evaporate like a snowflake on a warm spring day. Officers of the Interface Review Board, IRB for short, were sent to question any Plebe who, based on information received at the Interface, was thought to be out of compliance with State rules. If, after aggressively questioning said Plebian, they determined said Plebian was out of compliance, then said Plebian would be subject to Censure, which resulted in one or several of myriad punishments. The IRB was for investigating irregularities and minor offenses, however, which was the only good thing about them being here in Elsa's view. If this were about the Ice Queen, it would have been Enforcers in her office, not IRB lackeys. Having the IRB visiting, as well as them wanting to speak to Anna, meant the Ice Queen, and Elsa's life, were safe for the moment. It was the Master Architect and her Apprentice that were in trouble somehow.

Elsa sighed. "Thank you for telling me, Assistant," she said gratefully. "Please tell the Apprentice when she arrives."

"You're welcome, Master," he said sincerely. "And of course, I'll tell the Apprentice. Good luck." Elsa gave him a nod, turned herself into the ice-cold Master Architect and walked to her office door. After it slid open, she walked through, refusing to acknowledge the black-uniformed visitors in her office chairs until she was seated behind her desk. Even then, she didn't speak, content to appraise them and watch one of them grow uncomfortable under her unrelenting gaze. One of them didn't wilt, however, and Elsa surmised this was the Master. She was a taller woman, taller than Elsa herself, with curly ringlets of graying black hair that had been gathered into a loose ponytail down her back. Her thin, pointed nose and sharp, gray eyes coupled with a glowering expression radiated the clear message that not only was she was going to do her job, she was probably hoping it would end in Censure.

The androgynous IRB Thinker was not nearly as menacing, but instead seemed quiet and contemplative. It look Elsa a brief second, but she finally figured out the quiet person was a woman. She too had black hair, but it was straight and smooth, and her beautiful dark brown eyes indicated that her ancestors had come from the Asian continent. Those eyes looked at Elsa, and a spark of recognition flashed in them, surprising the Architect, who was sure she had never met the woman before. Elsa turned her gaze back towards the other woman and waited, knowing only a fellow Master could question her.

"Good Morning, Plebian," the IRB Master said. "As you may have surmised, I am a Master Detective for the Interface Review Board, and accompanying me is a Thinker Detective. We are here to ask you about some irregularities in your Interface data as of late."

"Very well," Elsa replied calmly, as there was little else she could say.

"We wish to speak with your Apprentice, too," the Master Detective informed her. "Where is she?"

"If she is not here by now, she is getting us coffee," Elsa stated confidently, glancing at the clock. "In fact, she's probably there now, if you ladies would like anything." When the Master offered no reply, Elsa turned to the Thinker. "Would you like anything, Thinker Detective?" she asked politely, continuing to act as if these two people who could haul her off to prison at any moment were mere clients.

"Green tea would be lovely, thank you, Master," the Thinker replied with a small smirk at the woman's cool chutzpah. So this was Ginger's Master, she thought. Between the beauty and the attitude, it was very easy to see why the feisty Ginger had fallen so hard for her. Elsa nodded, activated her cuff and typed a short message, before looking at the Master Detective again.

The Master Detective frowned, not liking the coolly confident attitude she was getting from her fellow Master, mainly because the Detective wasn't used to it. People were afraid of the IRB, and finding someone who wasn't was a rarity. "What is your designation, Plebian?" she asked, getting the questioning underway.

"And here we go," Elsa thought. Out loud, she began her formal recitation. "I am an Architect," she began, "in the Thread of Architecture in Pillar of Mathematics. I have achieved the Designation of Master within my Thread, and I have held this Designation for a period of 1.5 years. I am currently 21.3 years old, and my Plebian identification number is 256."

The Master Detective typed in all of this information into her tablet, her eyes narrowing as she processed the information internally. "That's extraordinarily young to achieve Master," she concluded.

"I am extraordinarily talented," Elsa replied matter-of-factly, and the Thinker's eyebrow rose in surprise and admiration at the immodesty.

The Master Detective coughed. "Are you now? I'll take that into consideration," she replied sourly. She consulted the tablet for the information she needed to formulate her next question. "The Interface indicates that you left your quarters at 22:00 hours last night and arrived at a restricted off-Campus location at 22:15. At approximately 22:40, your Apprentice joined you in this location and you both spent 43 additional minutes at the site. What was your purpose for leaving Campus and visiting a restricted site during Quiet Hours?" she inquired.

"The site is open to me at all times as I am the lead Architect on the project," Elsa answered, relieved that this seemed to be issue that IRB was investigating. She had chosen that location specifically because she and Anna had a reason for being there. "I wanted to visit the site when I knew it would be uninhabited so that I could visualize where to place all of the building components," she explained.

"And why did this require a visit during Quiet Hours?" the Master Detective persisted. "Surely construction does not go that late into the night."

"It doesn't," Elsa readily agreed. "But I wanted my Apprentice to accompany me, and she was otherwise engaged from the time she left work until 22:00 hours."

"Doing what?" came the next question

"I didn't accompany her, so I can't say for certain, but to my knowledge she always attends Philosophy Club meetings on that day during that time," Elsa replied.

"Hm. It's interesting that you know your Apprentice's schedule that well," the Detective commented.

Elsa shrugged. "I'm her Master, and she talks a lot. I know everything about her," she said truthfully.

"I see," the Detective said noncommittally. She consulted her tablet again. "So you wanted to look at the building layout. How would that be possible when it was dark outside?" she asked reasonably.

"The security system recognizes my cuff signature and I can access the electrical and lighting systems," Elsa replied. "I turned on the flood lights." Granted, she had turned them on so that the light would magically sparkle off all of her exquisite ice sculptures, not to actually see anything, but the Detective didn't need to know that. She also didn't need to know how the sight of Anna's enchanted face as she saw Elsa's ice for the first time was quickly becoming one of Elsa's most cherished memories.

The Detective opened her mouth to comment, but was interrupted by the sound of the door opening. "Good Morning, Master," Anna said, her voice subdued but still cheerful as she came into the room and set the tray of coffees and tea on Elsa's desk. She gave Elsa a quick glance to let her know that the Assistant had informed her of the situation before turning towards her side of the office.

"Good Morning, Apprentice," Elsa replied, as Anna went to put the rest of her things over on her own desk.

Anna returned to Elsa's desk, rolling her office chair in front of her and placing it just behind and to the left of Elsa's chair. She then came around to pull drinks out of the coffee tray, handing Elsa her coffee. After a quick appraisal of their guests, she handed the black coffee to the Master Detective and the green tea to the Thinker Detective. "Good Morning, Master; Good Morning, Thinker," she said, as she handed each one of them their drinks. The Thinker inclined her head in thanks, and Elsa saw a brief flash of affection in those dark brown eyes directed squarely at her Apprentice.

It was only the years of practice in concealing her emotions that allowed Elsa to hide the seething, irrational jealousy that sprung up alarmingly fast. Just as quickly, though, her rational mind took over to put together the few observations she had made about the Thinker, and she realized who the Thinker might be. A little ashamed, she took a sip of her coffee, pausing when she realized what Anna had gotten her. Now really ashamed at her jealous thoughts with the proof of Anna's sweetness in her hand, Elsa took another sip to hide her discomfort before doing what she always did when Anna brought coffee. "Thank you, Apprentice," she said sincerely.

"You're welcome, Master," Anna replied happily before turning to the Master Detective who was staring at her coffee cup balefully. "Is your coffee not to your liking, Master?' Anna asked.

"It's fine, but I didn't order this," the Master Detective stated, annoyed.

"Yes, I know, Master, but my Master said that we had two guests and I didn't want anyone to be left out," Anna explained, settling into her seat beside Elsa and placing her coffee on the desk.

"Do you often ignore basic directions?" the Master Detective asked tartly.

Anna considered the question, blithely ignoring the pointed tone. "I am getting much better at not ignoring them than I used to be," she decided after a moment's thought. "My Master tells me that I still have a long way to go, however."

The Master Detective looked at her in slight bewilderment, as if she couldn't believe someone would be that candid with the IRB. Anna merely smiled back, so the Master Detective pressed on. "Uh, yes, thank you for your answer," the Detective said slowly. "I am still in the process of questioning your Master, though, so you will need to return to your own office."

"This is her office," Elsa interjected. "Her desk is right over there."

"You share your office with a mere Apprentice?" the Master Detective questioned dubiously.

"I share my office because she is an Apprentice," Elsa countered in an even tone. "I can't very well teach her Architecture if she is always down the hall from me."

The Master Detective sighed in frustration. "Do you have a conference room?" she inquired, irritated.

"Of course," Elsa answered.

"Good," the Detective said. "Thinker, please take the Architecture Apprentice to this conference room to question her about yesterday evening."

"Yes, Master," the Thinker said promptly. "Will you please show me where it is?" she asked Anna as they both rose from their chairs, taking their drinks with them.

"I'd be happy to," Anna replied. "Please follow me." She gestured towards the door, and after it had opened, the two of them exited and turned left down the hallway.

When they were gone, the Master Detective resumed her questioning. "So, Architect, let me summarize. You decided to assess the building layout of a construction site in practically the middle of the night because you wanted your Apprentice to be present, but she had a prior engagement. This in turn caused you to be off-Campus during Quiet Hours. Would that be a fair summary?" she inquired.

"It seems accurate, yes," Elsa confirmed.

"Very well," the Detective commented. "So why didn't you ask her before she went to her meeting so that you could observe at a more reasonable time? She's your Apprentice; she would have to say yes."

"True," Elsa allowed. "But she looks forward to Philosophy Club all week, and I wouldn't want to take that from her, and anyway, the decision to go was fairly spontaneous, so I didn't think about asking her while she was still at work."

"Spontaneous," the Detective echoed. "That is very interesting coming from you. Answer me this, extraordinarily-talented Master Architect," the Detective needled, "Why would a Plebian who has never, ever done anything out of compliance with the rules, and who never, ever deviates from her schedule suddenly decide to be spontaneous?" When Elsa didn't answer, the Detective continued. "It wouldn't be because she is in an unsanctioned relationship with her pretty, free-spirited Apprentice, now would it?" she asked rhetorically, a smug look on her face.

Elsa looked at her, her face turning cold and expressionless. This IRB visit made so much more sense now. It wasn't really about the late-night visit to the construction site; true, it was a bit unusual, but Elsa did have permission to be there, and she and Anna had come back when the lockdown horn had sounded. The IRB had nothing to charge them with for last night. No, this was about the pattern that the Interface had calculated, a pattern that indicated two Plebes were defying the State by spending too much time with each other, a pattern that the IRB had decided was confirmed by Elsa's actions last night. "I'm not in that type of relationship with my Apprentice," Elsa stated coldly.

"Sure you're not," the Detective mocked her. "For three years, you associated with absolutely no one outside of work. If it hadn't been for the beautiful buildings and the fawning praise from the Patricians and everyone else, the IRB would barely have known you existed. Then about three months ago, you finally get an Apprentice. And suddenly, the woman whom everybody knew but nobody knew anything about starts spending an inordinate amount of time with this Apprentice, culminating in a highly-suspect off-Campus trip and an overnight stay at her quarters. You know, for someone who is known for being so very, very smart, you were very, very stupid about this."

"And I think you are giving the Interface a little too much credit," Elsa snapped. "Yes, we have grown close and we spend a lot of time together. I will fully admit that we are friends. That does not mean that we are in any kind of a long-term, unsanctioned relationship. Besides, I would never pursue that kind of a relationship with her. It would be an unethical exploitation of the unequal power dynamic that exists between a Master and an Apprentice, and even though many Masters on Campus gladly exploit this inequality for their own pleasure, I am not one of those Masters. I outrank her and I hold the rest of her career in my hands; there is no way such a relationship would ever be equal, and that type of relationship wouldn't be fair to either of us."

The Detective looked at her, her smug smile still in place. "All that may very well be, Architect, and from the vehemence of your response, I am inclined to believe you, but the Interface is rarely wrong," she stated. "So, even if you two aren't in a relationship, there is no doubt based on your increased heart rates, your body temperature variations and the hormonal releases that happen every single time you two are in the same room together that you two are not only attracted to one another, you are dangerously close to falling in love."

"It doesn't matter if we are in love; it doesn't even matter if we are having sex; the only thing that the State cares about is that we don't care more about each other than we do about the State," Elsa countered frigidly, her hatred for the State growing deeper with every word. "And, Master Detective, in spite of all of your technology, you have no proof that our friendship is doing anything thing to undermine the State, so you have no charges against us."

"True," The Detective admitted, "And, based on your previous statements, it seems like you have some sort of weird moral code preventing you from pursuing anything long-lasting, which just might keep you out of trouble. But, extraordinarily-talented Master Architect, just be aware that we know everything about you, and we are tracking you, and if you want us to be the bad guy, then fine, we will be more than happy to be the bad guy. We especially love bringing down arrogant –sorry, "extraordinarily-talented"– Plebes like yourself."

Elsa folded her arms across her chest, carefully tucking her hands under her arms to serve the dual purposes of looking intimidating and counteracting the deep desire to freeze this woman solid. "I will keep that under advisement," she said dismissively, refusing to be intimidated by this bureaucratic thug.

"See that you do," the Detective replied ominously, rising from her chair. She pushed a button on her cuff. "Thinker, we are done here. Meet me by the elevator," she ordered before leaving Elsa's office without another word.

Elsa glared at the Detective's departing form until the door shut behind her, at which point her hands dropped into her lap and she released the breath that she had been holding. "Fuck," she cursed.

After a few moments, the door slid open, and Anna entered, saying nothing but going immediately to her seat by Elsa. Looking more closely at her Master's face, Anna's heart dropped and she instinctively reached out for Elsa's hand. "It's bad, isn't it?" she asked softly, noting the chill in the fingers laced with her own and taking it as a bad sign.

"Not as bad as it could be," Elsa replied truthfully. With her free hand, she reached for the notepad and pen on her desk. She scribbled something down and handed it to Anna. "We can't talk about it in here," the note read. Anna nodded. Elsa squeezed her hand and let it go. "Well, we are behind schedule now, Apprentice, so we need to get to work," she declared.

"Yes, Master," Anna said automatically, getting up and returning her chair and herself to her own desk.

The morning and the afternoon passed without much conversation. Elsa didn't feel like talking, and everything Anna wanted to talk about she couldn't, so it was easier to remain in silence. Finally, right about the time Anna usually left, Elsa spoke. "Olaf is missing you, Apprentice," she said, as Anna looked up. "You should come by tonight and see him. I'll make us something for dinner."

"I would love to," Anna answered with her usual smile. "But, no, you already cook for me way too much. I'll bring the food."

Elsa winced before she could help it. "Uh, thank you, but no thank you, Apprentice. You know I cook because you can't, right? " she asked bluntly.

"Yes, I am well aware of that, Master," Anna retorted wryly, happy that their conversation felt normal again. "But I never said I would cook. I said I would bring food."

"As long as I can be assured that you are not cooking it, then yes, you can bring the food," Elsa stated with a wry smirk. "Is six o'clock okay?"

"It sounds wonderful," Anna replied. She glanced at the clock. "May I have permission to leave, Master?" she asked.

"Yes. I'll see you at six," Elsa said, anticipation warring with dread.

Anna nodded and gathered up her things. "Good evening, Master," she said, moving to and standing by the door as it opened. Elsa smiled and nodded, giving her tacit permission to leave, and Anna left.

Elsa had just gotten home and changed out of her work clothes when her door chimed promptly at six. She hurried into the living room to answer it, reaching out to help Anna with her bags when the door slid open. "I've got it, Master," Anna assured her as she walked through the living room to get to the kitchen. Anna set the bags on the counter and turned to go back into the living room, but as she turned, she bumped into Elsa who had been standing quietly behind her. Before Anna could say anything, Elsa put her arms around Anna and kissed her passionately.

The ferocity of the kiss surprised Anna more than the kiss itself. Excepting their second kiss in the snow, Elsa had seemed to be holding herself back somehow. She wasn't holding back now, though, and Anna couldn't help the aroused whimper that escaped her throat. That only seemed to encourage Elsa further, and she deepened the kiss, leaving Anna's head spinning from the taste of her.

Eventually, the need for oxygen caused the kiss to slowly dissipate, and Anna collected herself with a small smile as they drew apart. "I'm not complaining, mind you, but why do I have the feeling that kiss was a direct result of today?" she asked.

"Probably because it was," Elsa murmured into Anna's neck, still holding on to her.

"What happened today with the Master Detective? Why couldn't we talk about it in the office?" Anna asked.

"You don't know?" Elsa said incredulously. "The Thinker didn't ask you about us?"

"No," Anna replied. "She asked about the off-Campus construction site visit, but that was it."

Elsa sighed and led both of them to the couch to sit down. "I don't know if the Thinker wasn't privy to it, or if she was purposefully not telling you, but we weren't being investigated by the IRB for last night. We were being investigated for having an unsanctioned relationship," she explained.

Anna looked at her with a for-once unreadable expression as Olaf noticed she was there and happily jumped into her lap. "I just got you to kiss me yesterday," she said in disbelief, stroking his fur absentmindedly.

"I know," Elsa replied.

"We've been together less than a day," Anna continued, moving her hand to scratch Olaf's ears.

"I know," Elsa repeated.

"I know couples who have been together for years, and they've never been investigated," Anna stated, her fingers moving to Olaf's chin.

"All true," Elsa confirmed.

"Then why us?" Anna asked plaintively, gathering up the purring Persian into a hug before replacing him on her lap.

"Well, the Master Detective said something about "bringing down" arrogant Plebes," Elsa offered. "It's either that or simple bad luck."

"So now what do we do?" Anna asked apprehensively, knowing they were caught in a winless situation.

"I don't know," Elsa confessed reluctantly. "A small part of me wants to go outside, shout 'fuck you!' to the heavens and kiss you on the front steps of the Great Hall. Most of me just wants things to stay as they are, where we are best friends turning into lovers turning into whatever the future holds for us. But then I'm reminded of our reality, and that if we do either of those things we are going to end up arrested, and that if we end up arrested, there's a really good possibility that our other secrets will be revealed, and that if our other secrets are revealed, we will be executed."

"There's another option," Anna stated, even though staying away from Elsa wasn't something she wanted to do or even to think about.

Elsa shook her head. "There is no other option," she said firmly.

Anna looked at her sadly. "You know there is another option," she said.

"No, there's not," Elsa reiterated vehemently. "I know this is going to sound terrible, but the truth of my situation is that I am going to be executed. Just by being who I am I should be in prison, but since I've used my powers against the State, when they find out, they will kill me. Since I'm going to die anyway, I would rather die knowing I didn't squander one of my few chances for happiness." Elsa sighed, looking down before looking back up at Anna. "You've become my family, Anna. I tried not to have one again, because I knew it would be taken away from me, again, but you were a force of nature and I just couldn't resist you. Now that you are my family, I am not going to lose you."

Anna gently wiped away the single tear that had slid down Elsa's cheek. "You're my family, too, Elsa," she said softly. "As a Plebian kid, a family was all I ever wanted, and I've finally found it with you. But, if we have to keep our family intact by not being a family for a while, then that is better than losing our family entirely. I am not going to lose you either, Elsa, and I'm certainly not going to lose you because you have a death wish."

Elsa sighed. "I don't want to die, Anna; it's just reality," she countered.

"It doesn't have to be," Anna disagreed. "You have been incredibly good at hiding your extracurricular activities; otherwise you would already be dead. I don't see that changing, and if you never get caught, you never get executed. As far as our relationship, let's just back off for a while. It will suck, but we both know how to be alone and at least we will see each other every day at work. Then, when things have calmed down, you can start making me pancakes again."

"Or maybe I can just teach you how to make your own," Elsa offered, her spirits perking up just a bit. She studied Anna critically. "How do you have such a positive outlook on things?" she asked finally. "You have every right to be cynical and bitter. How do you always think that things will turn out for the best?"

Anna shrugged. "Because even when things don't turn out for the best, they sometimes do," she said cryptically.

"That was not helpful," Elsa retorted. "But I hope that you're right." She kissed Anna on the forehead. "You do know that even if I get caught, I'll never implicate you, right? I'll die protecting you from them," Elsa promised.

"I know," Anna assured her. "But I don't want to live without you, so that would be pretty pointless anyway." Her stomach picked that moment to growl, so she put Olaf down, got up from the couch and pulled Elsa with her. "I think it's time for dinner," she said, purposefully changing the subject. "I brought chocolate cake."

"Did you bring any real food?" Elsa asked, as she followed Anna into the kitchen.

"Cake is real food," Anna protested, "but yes, I also brought some salad and pasta." She started unpacking the bags as Elsa got out the plates, glasses and a bottle of wine. The food was still reasonably warm, so they dished out what they wanted and took it into the dining room without bothering to heat it up. As they ate, they lingered over their food, wine and cake, but eventually time ticked away and Anna knew that she had to go.

As they stood near the door, Anna put her arms around Elsa. "Promise me that you won't do something stupid because you are pissed and you think you're going to die," she pleaded.

"The only stupid thing I have ever done in my entire life is to tell you my real name," Elsa reassured her, reciprocating Anna's hug.

"And why was that stupid?" Anna inquired, curious.

"Because it destroyed the Ice Queen and made me become Elsa again. The Ice Queen had a much better chance of survival," Elsa said bluntly.

"But Elsa's the one I love," Anna countered, earning a smile from Elsa. She kissed Elsa deeply before reluctantly drawing away and heading towards the door. "Good night, Master," she said formally when the door opened. "I will see you tomorrow at work."

"Good night, Apprentice," Elsa replied sadly, but resignedly. Anna nodded, turned and left.


	6. Seditious Philosophers

Chapter 6 – Seditious Philosophers

Anna trudged down the path from the Plebian dorms to the Library. Tonight was Philosophy Club, and normally she would have been excited to be seeing her friends for their weekly meeting. But, it had been six days since the IRB had come to question her and her Master, and those six days had taken their toll on her usual optimism. Anna knew she was in love with Elsa; hell, the entire Philosophy Club, Elsa and even probably Olaf had known weeks before she had figured it out, but she never expected to be taking their separation this hard. She had thought that the time at work would be enough, that seeing Elsa eight hours a day would be sufficient, but it wasn't. Elsa was a different person at work; she wasn't even really Elsa at all, she was the Master Architect. There had been a few times when the façade had slipped; there had been looks and gentle, subtle caresses, but then one or the both of them would remember the cameras had finally been repaired and they were being watched, and Elsa would disappear again.

Anna sighed as she put her cuff to the panel that kept the Philosophy Club's meeting room locked to all but its members. The door slid open obediently and Anna walked in, keeping her eyes downcast as she went straight for her favorite wing-backed chair, chucked out its decorative pillow, plopped down into it and swung her legs over one of the arms as she always did. The other members already present looked at her in concern; there was a melancholy surrounding Ginger that most of them didn't think it was possible for her to have. Finally, a concerned Blondie spoke up. "What's wrong, Ginger?" she asked gently.

Anna glanced up and looked around, spotting the one Club member that she was none too happy with at the moment. "I don't know; why don't you ask Hua Ping?" she replied in a bitter tone that was very uncharacteristic for their usually-happy Ginger.

The Thinker Detective sighed as everyone turned to her. "That's not fair, Ginger," she protested quietly. "I had no idea that was what your Master was being investigated for. You know I would have warned you had I known."

The room stopped as everyone turned to look at either Ginger or Hua Ping. "The uber-Plebe was being investigated?" a tall, unmanly blond man, codenamed Troll in this particular company, asked incredulously. "For what?"

Anna glared at Hua Ping, but remained silent. Hua Ping sighed. "An unsanctioned relationship," she answered.

Eyebrows rose around the room and most cracked wry smiles in spite of the seriousness of being investigated by the IRB. Troll let out a small whistle. "Nice, Ginger," he complimented her. "So what's she like under that Architecture uniform?" he said with a suggestive smile.

Anna fixed him with a look and sighed when the smile didn't go away. Troll was one of her best friends and she knew he was only teasing her to make her feel better. "We're not lovers, you perv," Anna said, picking up and throwing the decorative pillow that lay discarded by her chair. Troll grinned as he ducked.

"Then why, Miss Ginger, was she at your place really early in the morning cooking you breakfast?" Debutante inquired sweetly from the back of the room. "As I recall, you were in the bedroom and she was the one answering the door."

"Don't forget the good morning kiss in the kitchen, sugar," Voodoo Queen reminded her lover with a smirk.

"Ah, yes. The kiss. Mostly sweet with just a little bit of zing behind it, if I recall correctly," Debutante said, with a matching smirk.

Anna blushed. She had forgotten about them coming to check on her the morning after her date with the Ice Queen. "Yes, she spent the night," she admitted. "But we didn't do anything. We talked and then we fell asleep on the couch." Wryly dubious looks met her statement. "I don't care if you don't believe me," she told everyone. "We fell asleep on the couch. Trust me, if I had known that the IRB was going to be in our office the next day, and that was the last time I was going to see her out of the office until the Pillars know when, then yes, something would have happened. But I didn't know, and nothing happened and now I can't touch her or kiss her or even be near her without the threat of arrest and it is really starting to piss me off. So will everyone please back off?" she finished loudly, tears threatening to spill from her eyes.

Everyone instantly felt bad, and Blondie glared at them all as she knelt to comfort Ginger. "It's okay, Ginger," she said, hugging her.

Anna sighed deeply and hugged Blondie back, calming down as the tears stayed unshed. "I'm sorry, everyone," she mumbled. "I didn't mean to yell at everyone. I don't know what came over me."

"You're in love, dumbass," Troll advised her wryly. "And you can't be with her. It's not rocket science."

"I think it's the why I can't be with her that is depressing me and pissing me off the most," Anna confessed, ignoring the "dumbass" for now. "We weren't doing anything wrong! We were friends, sure, but nothing more, and the day after we finally figure stuff out, the IRB comes knocking. Those two…" she paused, pointing at Voodoo Queen and Debutante, "…have lived together since they got here, which was six years ago, and they have never, ever been questioned. How is that fair!?"

"It's not," Leader replied, and the group turned to face the brown-haired, brown-eyed beauty that had entered the room. "But the State is rarely fair. And, no offense to Voodoo Queen or Debutante, they are just Thinkers, fairly low-level ones at that, and Chef and Actor are not powerful Occupations. Your Master, on the other hand, is a Master in Architecture who has received her fair share of attention from the Patricians and has a Plebian identification number of 256. Only 255 people in this Pillar-forsaken Government are ranked more highly than she is, and the IRB would love to take down anyone with that kind of power. Her power has made her a target for a long time, but she was clever and made sure to always be in compliance. Then you came along and the IRB found enough evidence to pounce."

"So you're saying my problems are all my fault," Anna concluded irritably. "How is it my fault when you are the one who assigned me to her?"

"You were supposed to gather technical data for our cause, Ginger. You weren't supposed to fall in love with her," Leader stated. "And you really weren't supposed to make her fall in love with you," she finished, fixing Anna with a wryly chiding glare.

"From what I've seen, everyone falls in love with her eventually. Even my cat likes her better," an unfamiliar voice informed them with the tiniest touch of humor. Everyone froze, not expecting a visitor when the door was locked.

Anna, however, knew that voice and she jumped up in her chair. "Master?" she questioned, peeking over the chair back. When she saw the person belonging to the voice, she inelegantly scrambled out of the chair and went to greet her. "Master!" she said happily, wrapping Elsa in a hug that was fervently returned.

While most of the room smiled at Ginger's happiness, one of the gentlemen could not resist making a witty comment. "Don't they see each other every day?" he muttered under his breath.

"Shut up, Rider," the black-haired, green-eyed woman beside him ordered. "You're just jealous that Blondie doesn't do that when you come into a room."

"At least I have a girl, Goshen," he retorted. "Where's yours?"

"I dunno," Goshen shrugged. "Where did Blondie get herself to?" she asked with a smirk. Rider glared at her but didn't say anything else.

The couple at the other end of the room didn't hear this conversation seeing as they were far too wrapped up in each other. "Is it okay if I crash your meeting, Apprentice?" Elsa murmured close to Anna's ear. "With so many people here, the IRB can't use it against us."

"That is one of the dumbest things I've ever heard you ask," Anna mumbled back. "Of course it's okay. I don't care if it's not okay, it's okay."

Elsa smiled and tightened her grip. They stayed like that for a few moments until Elsa noticed that every eye in the room was on them. A little embarrassed, she pulled back, only to have Anna pull her back in. "You have to let go, Apprentice," she whispered. "Everyone is looking at us."

"Let them look; I so don't care," Anna responded. Elsa sighed and compromised by turning Anna around so that they faced the crowd together while still keeping her arms firmly around her Apprentice. "Wow, they are all staring at us," Anna confirmed with a grin. "Um, hey guys. As if you couldn't tell, this is my Master."

"I think we all managed to figure that one out, Ginger," Leader said, rolling her eyes. "My question is how she got in here when the door was locked."

"I came in when you did," Elsa replied with a shrug. "I waited for you to unlock the door and slipped in when everyone was paying attention to you."

"And why are you here, besides the obvious?" Leader inquired.

"Oh, it's mostly for her," Elsa easily admitted. "I wanted to spend time with her without the IRB breathing down our necks. But, if I'm here, I thought I might be of service to the Philosophy Club and I wanted to join."

Anna turned to look at her. "Really? You'll join us?" she asked happily.

"Well, I have been somewhat successful on my own, but a large, organized group might have more efficient uses for my talents," Elsa explained. "Mainly, though, joining means I get to spend more time with you, and I'd be willing to do most anything for that." Anna smiled and reached over to kiss her, only to be stopped by a pointed clearing of someone's throat. She turned back around to see Leader still scrutinizing Elsa carefully.

"Why do you want to join?" she asked finally. "Besides this club giving you the opportunity to be with Ginger."

"Well, I have always been drawn to the individualist and existentialist view espoused by Kierkegaard and his contemporaries. I am compelled to agree with their assessment that one's destiny is determined by the individual rather than the world in which they find themselves, and I was hoping to argue such a point during your philosophical debates," Elsa said evenly. When Leader didn't respond right away, she put her lips to the ear of the woman she was still holding onto. "This room is secure, correct?" she whispered to Anna. "No cameras or recording devices or anything?"

Anna shivered involuntarily at the contact and the low, sultry whisper, but she got herself to focus and answer the question. "No one from the State knows anything about what happens in this room," she assured her, also in a whisper.

Leader let them finish their conversation before speaking again, still suspicious of Elsa and still studying her. "We already have an Existentialist," she lied, just to see how Elsa would react.

"That's unfortunate," Elsa said, politely regretful. "But I do have other interests. Perhaps this would be of some use to your organization?" she asked as she removed her right hand from where it was wrapped around Anna and flicked her wrist upwards. A streak of white shot to the top of the room and exploded, causing millions of delicate white snowflakes to start their gentle trip downward that ended with them falling on the stunned heads of the Philosophy Club.

Leader looked up and then ran a hand through her dark-brown hair, shaking the strands to dislodge the snowflakes that had been trapped there. As they tumbled down into her face, she sighed and looked at Ginger in amused exasperation. "So this how you managed to find the Ice Queen," she said, shaking her head. "It also explains why the Ice Queen would be cooking you breakfast."

Across the room, two other Club members were celebrating their own cleverness. "I told you she was the Ice Queen, sugar," Voodoo Queen said, as she tenderly brushed snowflakes from blond hair, eyebrows and eyelashes.

"Now let's see if those hallelujahs are forthcoming," Debutante said with her usual smirk. She looked at the snow falling around her wife's face and smiled. They didn't have much experience with snow; it hardly ever snowed back home and it rarely snowed around here, so it was a rarity to see the white flakes contrasting with the smooth ebony of her beloved's skin. Debutante decided she liked it. "You are so beautiful in the snow, Tia," she said lovingly, forgetting where they were and what title she should be using. She reached up and kissed her lover, feeling the other woman smile as Tiana kissed her back.

"Hey you two! Get a room!" Troll commanded from across the room as he flung an ill-advised snowball at the back of Leader's head. At the last second, a chivalrous Club member stepped between her and the missile, calmly allowing the snowball to bounce off his broad chest.

In spite of her irritation at Troll, Leader smiled at him. "Thank you, Beast," she said gratefully.

"Anything for my Beauty," he said debonairly before picking up a handful of snow to retaliate.

Leader sighed as she looked around their book-lined Club headquarters. Her people were supposed to be a finely-tuned network of rebels and spies, but they were all gleefully playing in the snow like children. Blondie had dragged Rider over to start building a snowman; Voodoo Queen and Debutante were still kissing in the snow; Beastie, Beast's twin sister, had teamed up with Hua Ping and her brother to take on Bear-Scotty, Goshen and Troll in an epic snowball fight; and even timid, nerdy Hacker, his spiky blond hair pointing straight up as usual, had gotten into the action by designing an effective snowball catapult, which he shyly offered to Goshen. Goshen had repaid him with one of her rare genuine smiles, and he had blushed before he had positioned himself behind a chair to stay out of the fray.

Anna looked at everyone with a smile on her face until she came to Troll. She still owed him for the "dumbass" comment, and now she had someone wrapped around her that could help. "Master?" she asked, leaning back.

"Yes, Apprentice?" Elsa inquired, enjoying Leader's chagrin at the chaos the Ice Queen had created as she kept Anna securely in her arms.

"Could you make me a really big snowball?" Anna queried.

"Why?" Elsa prompted.

"Do you see that tall guy with the unmanly blond hair?" she pointed, before realizing that both Troll and Beast qualified. "The one with the redhead and the black-haired girl manically wielding the catapult," she clarified. Elsa nodded. "Well, before you got here, I was pining a bit for you and he called me a name," she explained. "I would like to exact my revenge for that."

Elsa frowned, immediately disliking anyone who would mess with her Apprentice. "Of course I could make you a snowball, but I would be more than happy to deal with him for you," she offered.

"No, I can fight my own battles, so I just need the ammo," Anna said with a grin. "But I thank you for looking out for me."

"No one messes with my family," Elsa said with a smile, leaning closer to Anna to make her point. With Elsa that close, Anna couldn't resist reaching over and finally kissing Elsa like she had wanted to since Elsa got here. Elsa was surprised, but she didn't mind, so she returned the kiss with a sweetness that caused Anna to practically go limp in her arms. Elsa chuckled at the reaction before slowly ending the kiss and unraveling herself from her Apprentice. She put her hands in front of her in the shape of a large-sized orb, and within seconds, she had created a large-sized snowball that she presented to Anna. "Your ammo, Feisty-pants," she said with a good-natured flourish.

"You are amazing," Anna said giddily as she snatched the snowball and kissed Elsa all in one motion. Breaking off the kiss, she waited until just the right moment to launch the snowball at Troll…only to have it sail harmlessly over his head. Anna sighed.

Troll chuckled derisively. "You couldn't hit the broadside of the Library, Gin-" he began, stopping when a much larger snowball than the one Anna had launched at him hit him square in the face, knocking him to the ground right on his well-shaped backside.

All of the combatants plus Anna looked at Elsa, who stood there with no noticeable expression and her arms crossed. Even Leader, who had been halfway looking at Elsa, had failed to see her move. "That was snow," she reminded everyone mildly. "I can do the same thing with ice. Sharp, pointy ice," she emphasized, glowering pointedly at Troll who was picking himself off the floor with his teammates' help.

"Yes, Ma'am," Troll said respectfully, honestly impressed and the tiniest bit scared. Coming back to himself, though, he grinned. "You have much better aim than Ginger," he complimented her.

"Yes, I do," Elsa agreed. Troll laughed and turned back to his snowball fight while Elsa turned back to Anna, only to find her expressive face wearing an annoyed, almost angry expression. Elsa sighed, knowing that she should be in trouble for interfering because Anna had specifically asked to handle the situation herself. If the situation was reversed and Anna had interfered when asked not to, Elsa knew that she would have been infuriated, so it was unfair to expect less of her Apprentice. "I know you asked me to handle it yourself, but you still have the aim of an Apprentice Architect and I just couldn't help it when he started taunting you. I would say I'm sorry, but I'm not, and I never apologize anyway, so I will just promise that I will try to keep my protectiveness under better control in the future," Elsa said in an apologetic tone.

"Just because you have powers and I don't doesn't mean I'm helpless, Elsa," Anna said firmly, using Elsa's proper name to make her point.

"I know," Elsa replied quietly, looking down.

"But," Anna continued, using her hand to gently lift Elsa's chin back up so they could look at one another, "I know you are only doing it because you love me and want to protect me, and that makes me love you even more. Just don't make it a habit," she warned mock sternly.

Elsa smiled. "I always learn from my mistakes," she promised.

"I know you do, because that's the type of person you are," Anna assured her and then decided to change the subject in a typically-Anna fashion. "Now, how did you do that without anyone seeing?" she demanded.

"Very carefully," Elsa said, with a teasing grin.

"Okay, just for that, I'm still mad at you," Anna decided. Elsa chuckled and swept her up for a kiss. "Okay, maybe not that mad," Anna murmured when Elsa let her go.

Leader, who had been quietly observing them since before Troll had been flattened by a snowball, decided that she had seen and heard enough. "Ginger, could I meet with your Master in private, please?" she requested. "I would like to talk to her about her admission to the Philosophy Club."

"Um, sure, Leader," Anna said, a little confused but agreeable. She smiled at Elsa and went to help Blondie and Rider with their snowman.

Leader studied the Ice Queen, noting that with Ginger gone, that was exactly whom the Architect had back turned into. "She knows your real name," Leader said, not as a question but as a statement of fact.

"She does," Elsa confirmed, no emotion showing.

"I would never have thought that the masterful Ice Queen would reveal so much of herself," Leader added. "It seems like a risk to open yourself up like that."

"Love makes you do stupid things," Elsa replied.

"Like joining the rebellion?" Leader asked wryly.

That got a small smile to form on the icy exterior of the Architect. "Perhaps," Elsa allowed.

Leader looked at her, intrigued at the many different sides of the Ice Queen she had seen tonight. "You are nothing like I expected the Ice Queen to be," she admitted. "Granted, I can see that you are the Ice Queen and you have some of the traits that I thought she would have, but really, you are so much more complicated than I would have ever have suspected."

"And is that a good thing or a bad thing?" Elsa inquired.

"I haven't decided yet," Leader stated candidly. "But truthfully, if it weren't for Ginger, I probably wouldn't let you join. I don't know if I can trust you."

"If it weren't for my Apprentice, I wouldn't be here," Elsa countered. "And you have every right not to trust me because I am only here for her." Elsa looked Leader in the eye, capturing the rebel leader's gaze to make sure she understood. "If you let me join, I will be loyal to you and the group. I abhor the State as much or more than you do, and I will gladly fight for any cause that wishes to end it. But, if there ever comes a point where I have to choose between the rebellion and my Apprentice, there will be no choice. I will do anything I can to save her even if it means I die and I have to take the rest of you with me," Elsa finished, her face again devoid of any emotion.

To her surprise, Leader smiled. "That is a statement worthy of an Ice Queen," she said in subtle admiration. "And I thank you for your honesty. But just remember, I care for my rebel family far more than I care for you, and that family includes Ginger. If you hurt her or if you put her in danger in any way, I will not hesitate to have you arrested. If you do anything that gets any of us arrested or executed, I'll kill you myself."

"Seems only fair," Elsa replied, happy that they understood one another.

"Then welcome to the Philosophy Club," Leader congratulated her.

"Thank you, Leader," Elsa said with a wry nod. "Any first orders?"

"Since you have managed to turn all of my Unit Leaders into little children playing in the snow, could you please take it away so that we might actually get some work done?" Leader queried. Elsa smirked, nodded and raised her hands, willing the snow to rise. There were loud squawks of protest as games were interrupted and creations were destroyed, but the snow obeyed Elsa's will and gathered itself back up at the ceiling before disappearing completely. Seeing all of the grumpy faces now turned her way, Leader glowered at them all. "Quit pouting and sit," she ordered, irritated. "It's time to start the meeting." Everyone sighed and went to their usual chairs and couches, excepting Anna who went over to Elsa. Still a little uneasy surrounded by this many people, Elsa was standing off to the side quietly observing until Anna grabbed her hand and led her to her favorite chair.

"You can have my chair, Master," Anna offered, indicating the wingback in front of them.

"And where are you going to sit?" Elsa asked, as she settled into it.

"On you," Anna replied simply and plopped down into Elsa's lap.

"Ooof," Elsa wheezed before Anna settled herself sideways so that her legs were over the chair arms as they always were. Shaking her head, Elsa slipped her arms around Anna's waist and they waited for the meeting to start.

"As Leader I call this meeting to order," Leader stated. "When you hear your codename, please raise your hand. Beast?" A hand went up. "Beastie?" followed. Another hand was held aloft. "Bear-Scotty?" Leader questioned, and at this codename, Elsa leaned closer to Anna to ask her something.

"Biscotti, like the cookie?" she whispered quizzically.

"No, Bear-Scotty," Anna corrected. At Elsa's confused face, she tried to explain. "Um, it makes sense in context?" she offered. "Codenames are assigned based on personal characteristics or preferences. Bear-Scotty's family is from Scotland and bears are a huge part of their family history."

Before Elsa could reply, Leader called out another name. "Blondie?" she called, which caused a hand to rise and brought up another question for Elsa. "Why is her codename Blondie when she's a brunette?" she whispered wryly.

"Long story. A very long story," Anna replied, also whispering. Leader looked at them pointedly as they whispered, and Elsa decided to be quiet for the rest of roll call.

"Debutante?" Leader said, and the blonde's hand rose. "Ginger?" she said. Anna's hand went up. "Goshen? Hacker? Hua Ping? Rider? Troll? Voodoo Queen?" she asked in rapid succession and six hands went up to finish the process. "All right, as I am sure all of you are aware, we have a visitor tonight, Ginger's Master, the Architect," she said, and heads nodded in agreement. "After some discussion, I offered her a place in the Philosophy Club, and she has accepted." Anna looked at her with a wide smile, and Elsa shrugged, while the rest of the member started clapping. "So now you all know the drill," she continued. "She needs a codename, and while there would be one obvious selection, 'Ice Queen' is already associated with a known saboteur and using that in our communications would result in unwanted attention from the State. What are some other suggestions?"

"For her to pick it herself," came the loud suggestion from the woman with flaming red curls cascading down her back. "Otherwise she'll get stuck with some Pillars-awful codename like 'Bear-Scotty'," she finished in disgust.

"I like Spiky," Troll cut in, ignoring Bear-Scotty's pointed remark. "You know, like ice spikes."

"Marshmallow?" Beastie suggested. At everyone's puzzled looks, she shrugged. "What? She's got white hair and it made me think of marshmallows."

"I've got a couple," Anna piped up, and Elsa looked at her apprehensively.

"Apprentice, please, you'll only make it worse," she pleaded softly, already very embarrassed by this unexpected conversation.

"Trust me," Anna replied with a small kiss. "Knowing what her interests are, I think that Morgan or Sulley would be best," she announced. The others looked at each other questioningly, having no idea of what the significance might be. Elsa smiled, knowing exactly why Anna had picked them. Apparently Anna had actually been paying attention to at least some of her Architecture lessons over the last months.

Leader, being a Master Librarian with a vast knowledge base, also knew why Anna had suggested them. "I think either of those would be perfect," she agreed. "They speak to her profession, not to her powers, and that will allow us to be more discreet. So, which one, Architect?" she asked, giving her fellow Master final say.

Elsa debated the merits of each and then finally decided. "Morgan," she said.

"Then Morgan it is," Leader replied. "Okay, that's done, so now on to our agenda."

As Leader started the meeting, Anna reached down to whisper once more to Elsa. "I offered those because I knew you would be okay with either of them, but I'm never going to call you that," she told Elsa. "It just doesn't feel right."

"Yeah, don't expect me to start calling you Ginger, either, Apprentice," Elsa replied with a small smile.

In spite of the distraction of Anna perched in her lap, Elsa did her best to pay attention to the rest of the meeting. Most of the particulars they discussed were beyond Elsa; Anna, for obvious reasons, had only ever mentioned the people of the Philosophy Club, not the specifics of their plans, and Elsa had no idea what all of the various codenames were. One thing she did figure out, however, was that the people located in the room were not the sum total of the seditious network. They were the leaders of their respective Units, and they had hundreds of people under their command branching out into their respective Pillars and even into the Proletariat.

"You are a Unit Leader?" Elsa couldn't help asking as this fact came to light.

"Of course. Do you have to ask? I am totally and utterly the commanding type," Anna insisted. At Elsa's eyebrow, she relented and grinned sheepishly. "I'm the only one in the Architecture Thread. I'm in charge of myself," she admitted.

Elsa chuckled and then thought of something. "I'm in Architecture, and I'm a part of this now," she pointed out. "Does that make you my Unit Leader?"

Anna pondered that and then shook her head. "No," she decided quickly. "We're not a Unit. We're a team, so we don't need a leader."

"Agreed," Elsa murmured, shutting up as Leader sent yet another chiding look their way.

The meeting continued and the minutes ticked away until at last the time ran out. Leader gave her last few orders and everyone made note of them, standing up and stretching as the meeting was adjourned and they put away their notebooks. Anna reluctantly removed herself from Elsa's lap and helped Elsa to stand. People began to trickle out, and most of them shook Elsa's hand, welcomed her to Philosophy Club and said goodnight to her as they left. Debutante, ever genteel and friendly, thanked Elsa for the snow as she said good night, adding a friendly squeeze and wink before finding her Voodoo Queen to take her home.

As the room emptied, Elsa sighed in relief that the welcoming gauntlet was almost over. She appreciated the open friendliness of the group, and she had graciously interacted with everyone as the situation demanded, but Elsa was still wary of people that weren't Anna, and she was glad to see only one person remained, especially since it was the Thinker Detective that she had wanted to talk to. "It is good to see you again, Thinker Detective," she said, carefully polite.

"Thank you, Master, but please, call me Hua Ping," the Detective requested. Elsa nodded, waiting. Hua Ping took a deep breath and looked at Elsa. "I came to apologize, Master. If I had known that you were being investigated for something other than the off-Campus visit, I would have warned Ginger. According to my files, that is all that we were there to investigate. It wasn't until after we left that the Master Detective told me of the real reason for our visit."

"You were only doing your job, Hua Ping, and truthfully, even if you had known, I don't think your warning would have done much good," Elsa stated. "We had been spending too much time together for far too long."

"True, but I can see how much this separation is distressing Ginger, and it troubles me," Hua Ping replied.

"It is unfortunate, but we will work it out," Elsa assured her. "At this point, I don't know if I can live without her, so we will have to work it out."

"Which reminds me –even though I hesitate to bring this up now that this conversation has gone so well– but there was another thing that was troubling me and I wanted to speak with you about, Master," Hua Ping said reluctantly. "I've seen the Master Detective's notes, and you kept claiming that you would never have a relationship with your Apprentice. Yet, you two are obviously together in whatever way you can be. Were you just lying or is this just some fling you don't consider to be a relationship? Because Ginger believes in you and I won't see her hurt."

Elsa's face grew icy and Hua Ping instantly regretted asking. To her surprise, though, after a moment's thought, Elsa's face softened. "It is a legitimate question," she admitted. "And, to ease your concern, I'll answer it. This is not a fling for me. I have destroyed too much of my former life for her for this to be a fling and I will love her for the rest of my life."

"Then you were lying," Hua Ping concluded.

"No, I wasn't," Elsa contradicted. "I think any Master who starts an unequal power-based relationship with an Apprentice is despicable. But…" she trailed off, trying to think of a way to put it so that it was understandable and not crazy-sounding.

"…she showed me she was the Ice Queen before she told me she loved me. She gave me all of the power," Anna finished, wrapping her arms around Elsa, and resting her head in the crook of Elsa's neck. Elsa smiled shyly; apparently Anna's conversation with Blondie had finished and she had been listening.

Hua Ping smiled at them. "Okay, I was being stupid," she acknowledged ruefully. "I apologize for everything, Master; goodnight to the both of you," she said as she turned and walked out the door.

Elsa and Anna looked around, finding themselves alone except for Leader, Blondie and Rider. The three others headed for the door and Elsa and Anna followed, all of them saying goodnight as the door slid shut. "Walk me home, Master?" Anna asked hopefully, as they exited the Library.

"Of course, Apprentice," Elsa said. Anna smiled and grabbed Elsa's hand, knowing that she shouldn't but not caring. Elsa knew that she should pull away, but she didn't, so hand-in-hand they strolled across Campus to Anna's building. Mindful of the cameras, little was said or done as they walked, but they were content to be in each other's company. Anna's building came into view far too soon, and they stood awkwardly at the front door when they arrived. Neither one wanted to say goodbye, but neither wanted to give the IRB any evidence. Finally, Elsa took the initiative and spoke.

"I think Olaf would like you to come visit him tomorrow," she said, having a flash of inspiration.

"And I would love to see him," Anna responded with a smile.

"I'll text you to let you know the time," Elsa said, smiling back. She leaned forward and gave Anna a hug instead of the kiss that she wanted to. "Good night, Apprentice," she whispered, squeezing her.

"Good night, Master," Anna answered, hugging her back. They stayed like that for a few moments before separating. Anna waved goodbye as she entered the building and Elsa waved back. Once her Apprentice was out of sight, Elsa sighed, turned and started walking towards her own building.


	7. Fleeting Pleasures

Chapter 7 – Fleeting Pleasures

Elsa tapped on her keyboard, sighing with impatience as her machine took far too long to do what should have been a simple processing task. She thought about banging on it with her fist, but stopped herself before showing her petulance. It wasn't the computer's fault that she had been nervous and impatient all day. She glanced over to the other desk in the room, where the true source of her discomfort sat cheerfully attaching tiny triangles to the outside of a sphere. Elsa sighed. She didn't regret asking Anna to come over to her quarters tonight, nor was she planning to change her other plans for this evening that would, Pillars willing, give them some privacy from the IRB. But the convergence of these plans, along with her innate perfectionism that insisted tonight be flawless, had caused her stress level to rise precipitously.

Elsa took another deep breath and calmed herself in the only way she knew how; she took out her notebook and started to plan. Within minutes, outlines and flowcharts emerged, all carefully coded into abbreviations and references that only Elsa would be able to understand. After work, she would see to dinner and her quarters, making sure that both were up to her exacting standards. After night fell, she would become the Ice Queen and do what she needed to so that the IRB wouldn't be able to track them. Then, at last, it would be time for Anna's visit and everything that it might entail, which would definitely include dinner, but could also include an advancement of their relationship that simultaneously excited and terrified Elsa.

It wasn't that Elsa didn't want to take that next step. The Pillars knew that her dreams had been informing her of her attraction to Anna for almost as long as Elsa had known her. But with the IRB threatening and the realities of being Ice Queen and spy, there could be serious consequences for giving the IRB any more evidence. Those consequences, and the knowledge that they could never truly be together like they both wanted, made Elsa wonder if it would even be worth it. But then she looked up and caught Anna smiling at her. Her lips curled upwards of their own accord and a warmth spread throughout her body that she had no power to control. Even her ice was helpless against it, and it made her realize that any moments she could have with Anna, intimate or no, would be worth whatever price she would have to pay.

Anna noticed the smile and her own deepened. She was very much looking forward to tonight, even if it was under the auspices of visiting Olaf and even if it was only for the evening. That thought reminded her of the vital piece of information she was missing about this evening. "What time should I come over, Master?" she asked.

Elsa blinked, snapping herself out of the slight swoon her thoughts had managed to disappear into. She thought briefly. "I am not going to be staying here much longer, because frankly, I want to get out of this office, but I still have quite a bit of work to do this evening," she answered. "Would you be willing to meet me later, say about 9:00?"

Anna studied her, knowing immediately something was up. Elsa was an early riser and her bedtimes were commensurate with that habit. 9:00 was close enough to Elsa's usual bed time that her having someone over at that time was odd. "9:00 is fine with me, Master," Anna said slowly, watching Elsa carefully for some sort of indication of what might be happening, but the Master Architect mask was in place and Anna saw nothing. "Should I bring dinner again? Or maybe dessert?" she offered, using a different approach to eke out information.

"No dinner; it's my turn," Elsa replied, impressed at the seemingly-innocuous way Anna was fishing for clues. "Dinner will be ready when you get there. You could bring some dessert if you wanted though."

"Sounds good," Anna answered, still scrutinizing Elsa. After a few moments of scrutiny, Anna realized the futility of her actions and went back to work, her mind still trying to solve the riddle that she knew was there. Luckily, attaching triangles to a sphere wasn't all that mentally taxing, so her mind was free to puzzle until she heard Elsa start to gather her things. "Time to leave, Master?" Anna asked, putting down her model supplies and standing herself.

"Yes," Elsa confirmed. She put a few items into her satchel and closed it, turning off all of the electronics on her desk. Anna did the same, and after the door slid open for them, they left the room together. They both bid goodnight to the Office Assistant and walked to the elevator, neither one speaking again until they were out of the building. "I have a few errands, so I am heading to the other side of Campus," Elsa said, knowing that Anna would be expecting them to be going in the same direction towards the dorms. "I'll see you tonight."

"See you then, Master," Anna responded with a small smile. Elsa smiled back, turned and started walking towards the shopping area. Anna watched her go, still knowing something was up and still uneasy about it.

Elsa stuck close to her planned schedule, stopping only in the shops she needed to in order to gather things for dinner, going straight to what she needed and buying them without looking at much else. In spite of her focus, though, there was one item in a shop window that caught her eye as she passed, and without thinking she stopped to look at it. After a moment's deliberation, she realized it would be perfect, so she deviated from her schedule just long enough to purchase it and have it wrapped. Now a bit behind schedule, she hurried back to her quarters, striding through the door when it opened and going into the kitchen to set down her groceries and other packages before going into the bedroom to change into something she could clean and cook in.

Her meticulousness told her that she had a lot of cleaning to do, but in reality, Elsa's quarters were already spotless and cleaning up the outer rooms was a matter of picking up jingle balls and cloth mice and making sure the hand towels were perfectly straight in the bathroom. When it came to her bedroom and changing her sheets, though, she wavered between listening to propriety, which decreed Anna would not be anywhere near her sheets so changing them didn't matter, and listening to her libido, which wanted to throw Anna into those sheets as soon as she got to Elsa's quarters. Much to her embarrassment, libido won, and her bed was remade with fresh sheets.

Now confident that her quarters were clean, it was time to make dinner so that it could be bubbling away in the oven while the Ice Queen was taking care of the tracking cuffs. She had decided on coq au vin, as it had about an hour and a half of cooking time, which would be the perfect window for her mission. She chopped her veg while her bacon rendered, and after browning the chicken parts in the bacon fat, she removed it, sautéed the vegetables, added flour to make the rue and finished up by adding the wine. She put the chicken back in pot and put it into the oven, starting her hour and a half timer.

Elsa hurried into her bedroom to remove her unwanted tattletale electronics and change into her mission wear. She closed her eyes and composed herself like always, finding that damnable chip where it always was and removing it from her body like she always did. The cuff was next, and she smirked, knowing that when she put it back on, its tracking system was going to be completely non-functional. She placed the chip in its box and the cuff on the dresser and paused as a truly ridiculous idea popped into her head. She was free now; she could simply go to Anna's quarters without rendering the cuffs inoperable. Just as quick, all of the reasons she shouldn't do that followed that initial thought, and Elsa disappeared up her bedroom vent.

Several meters of ducting and hidden passages later, Elsa emerged into the shadows of the upper floor of the communications building. She carefully made her way through the building, slipping from camera blind spot to camera blind spot until she came to the right corridor. She summoned a blizzard around her to block out the view of the cameras and stepped out in front of the door, placing her hand on the locking panel and freezing it solid. The door slid open and she gained access, expanding her blizzard to envelop her and encompass the room. She found the circuitry she was looking for and ripped it open with jagged ice spikes before filling it with ice and snow. Satisfied, she and her blizzard walked back out into the now alarm-filled hallway and she slipped back to the shadows, up the floors and back up the vent. A few more minutes spent scurrying in the vents and passageways got Elsa back to her quarters and she dropped into them with a palpable sense of relief.

Elsa glanced at the antique analog clock in her room, smirking in triumph when it told her she still had thirty minutes to spare before Anna arrived. She froze her mission clothes off of herself and dumped them down the incinerator before replacing her cuff and chip. She pushed a few buttons on the cuff and it peeped mournfully but did nothing else. She opened up the maps app to see if it could locate her, but that too failed. Smirking, she grabbed towels from the linen closet and hurried to the bathroom to take her shower.

It was not long or luxurious, but the shower got Elsa clean, and it refreshed her. Flipping through her closet, she considered and discarded several options before settling on her familiar blue turtleneck and black jeans. They weren't fancy, but they were comfortable, and with the way Anna liked to surreptitiously ogle her whenever she wore the turtleneck, Elsa was confident Anna would like the choice. That thought caused a smile, and with a shake of her head, Elsa went into the kitchen, tied on her apron and began to put the finishing touches on dinner.

The door chimed a few minutes later as she was setting the table and Elsa went to answer it, smiling at Anna as she came bounding in with a telltale pink box in her hand. "Chocolate cake, again?" she teased.

Anna stuck her tongue out in a stunning display of maturity. "No," she retorted with a smirk. "It's chocolate cheesecake."

"My mistake," Elsa retorted with a smirk of her own before taking the box from her and putting it in the refrigerator.

Anna sniffed. "Wow, it smells good in here," she commented, as Elsa returned to the stove to check on the chicken. "What did you make?" Anna asked, sliding behind Elsa, putting her arms around her waist and resting her head on Elsa's shoulder to peer into the pot.

"Chicken with wine," Elsa answered.

"Really?" Anna questioned, impressed. "I tried making coq au vin once but it had like a million ingredients and a million steps. I failed miserably."

Elsa looked at her, trying to keep the smirk off her face. "I'm shocked," she deadpanned.

"Hey," Anna protested. "We aren't all gorgeous brilliant Master Architect Ice Queen Cooking Goddesses like you. Some of us are mere mortals."

"No, some of you are sweet, beautiful Apprentice Architects who manage to make Ice Queens melt," Elsa replied looking at Anna lovingly over her shoulder before returning her attention to the sauce.

Anna felt her skin warm as she blushed. She kissed the side of Elsa's neck in thanks, smiling a little when Elsa leaned back into the touch. Realizing something that she had stupidly neglected to do, Anna gently turned Elsa around in her arms and drew her in for a proper kiss. Elsa, already buzzing from the epinephrine coursing through her veins due to nerves, anticipation and her Ice Queen mission, responded more intensely than either of them anticipated and Anna found herself being kissed forcefully and pushed up against the refrigerator within seconds. Almost as quickly, Elsa realized what she was doing and backed off, leaving a confused but incredibly aroused Anna panting slightly with her back still up against the refrigerator. "I'm sorry, Anna," she apologized quietly, not looking up.

Anna's eyes widened at the soft apology. Elsa never apologized for anything, ever, and she certainly didn't need to apologize for kissing the woman she was in love with. Anna peeled her back up off the refrigerator and reached out her arms to Elsa's downcast person. "What's wrong, Elsa?" Anna asked pleadingly, as she slipped her arms around the other woman.

"I shouldn't have done that," Elsa said, still refusing to look at Anna, knowing that all she wanted was to do it again.

"And why not?" Anna asked, honestly perplexed. "Aren't you attracted to me?"

"Of course I'm attracted to you," Elsa snapped, still a bit on edge. "That's a stupid question."

"Then why are you breaking your own rules and apologizing?" Anna asked gently.

Elsa finally looked up at her, startled, before realizing Anna was right. "I did apologize," Elsa gasped.

Anna couldn't help but laugh merrily at the horrified expression on Elsa's face, which earned her a glare from Elsa, which then made Anna laugh harder, causing a begrudging smile to appear on Elsa's face. The tension broken, Elsa gave Anna a squeeze and released her, turning back towards the stove and grabbing her pot holders. "Dinner's ready," she informed her still-giggling Apprentice, as she led the way into the dining room carrying the bubbling coq au vin. Letting her chuckles wind down before she got herself into real trouble, Anna followed her.

Dinner, as usual, was excellent, and both women ate their fill as they chatted as only they could about everything and nothing. Olaf, intrigued by the smell of food, kept rubbing and winding around their legs until Anna took pity on him and gave him a small bite of chicken while Elsa pretended not to see. When they were done, Anna took the plates back into the kitchen while Elsa cleared out the food, and after everything had been washed and/or put away, Elsa turned on the coffee pot in case they wanted some coffee when they were ready for cheesecake. She looked around for Anna, but Anna had already gone into the living room to sit on the couch, and Olaf had wasted no time following her and claiming her lap for his own.

Elsa joined them, smiling wryly at her cat's lack of subtlety about which human he preferred. "If he wasn't a present from the Patricians, I should just let him live at your place," she said. "But we would both get in trouble for it."

"No, that's not a good idea," Anna agreed. "Besides, one day soon I'll be living with you both, so he can wait a little while longer."

Elsa looked at her, still in awe of her optimism. "You truly believe that, don't you?" she questioned.

"Of course I do," Anna responded promptly. "I love you too much to believe that our separation is permanent. One day, when we're free, I am going to ask you to marry me, you are going to say yes, and we are going to live happily ever after."

Elsa didn't say anything, but got up from the couch, and Anna was suddenly terrified that her mouth had gotten her into trouble yet again. But, to her relief, Elsa came back quickly and handed her a small white box. "It's not what I wanted it to be or what I really wanted to give you. But it's a start, and, um, I hope it will always remind you of what you mean to me," Elsa said with a rare nervous stumble to her words.

Anna looked at the box and looked at Elsa before untying the bow and ripping off the paper. A small, black jewelry box lay within the outer box, and Anna spent a few moments trying to carefully take it out before growing frustrated and ripping the corner of the outer box. The black box fell out into her palm, and she turned it right side up before opening the clamshell lid. Inside lay a clear crystal pendant cut into a multifaceted sphere. At first glance, it looked like ice, which of course would have been appropriate, but as Anna examined it more closely, she realized it reminded her more of a finished version of the unfinished 3D sculpture still sitting on her desk at work, a miniature legless replica of the ice sculpture Elsa had made for her when Elsa had revealed her powers. "It's beautiful, Elsa," Anna said, smiling shyly.

"I wasn't exactly looking for anything but dinner, but it caught my eye, and I thought you would like it," Elsa replied suddenly shy herself.

"It's perfect," Anna assured her. "Help me put it on?"

Elsa took the pendant and its chain from Anna, and Anna turned her head so that Elsa could loop it around her neck. Elsa fastened the clasp and Anna took a minute to look down and admire it before turning back to Elsa. Reaching out a hand, Anna stroked Elsa's cheek for a moment before bringing their lips together for a kiss.

Olaf scurried out of the way as the kiss grew deeper and Anna abruptly pulled Elsa closer. Elsa, caught a bit off guard, pitched forward, and a chain reaction of motion ended with Anna lying on the couch and Elsa lying on top of her. The kiss didn't stop but rather intensified, and after a few minutes, Elsa grew just bold enough to set her right hand exploring. Anna gasped into the kiss as she felt the tentative touch on her left breast, but she didn't pull away, and that encouraged Elsa to keep touching and exploring. Anna's back arched as her body reacted to the touch, and she slipped her own hands underneath that ice-blue turtleneck that she loved so much, feeling Elsa's stomach muscles contract as her hands brushed smooth skin.

Elsa's mouth finally left Anna's and she started to use it on Anna's neck, causing Anna to whimper just like she had in Elsa's dreams. The sound pushed Elsa over the edge from desire into lust, and Anna whimpered again as Elsa's mouth became more questing and insistent. Suddenly, though, the chimes from the living room clock filtered through Anna's own lust-clouded brain, and she realized just how late it really was. If this continued, she would never make it back to her quarters before Quiet Hours and the IRB would have even more evidence against them. Knowing this, Anna got herself under control and with every gram of willpower she had gently pushed at Elsa's shoulders to separate them. "Elsa, we have to stop," she said regretfully.

Feeling the push and hearing the soft voice, Elsa froze, thinking she had done something wrong. Anna knew Elsa was distraught by the suddenly icy chill of the hand that was on a delicate part of her anatomy, so she kissed Elsa gently to assuage her fears. "It's not you or what we are doing, love," Anna promised her after the kiss ended and she still saw a bit of fear and confusion in Elsa's beautiful blue eyes. "I just need to go before we both get in trouble."

Elsa relaxed at Anna's assurances and pushed herself off of Anna and into a sitting position holding onto Anna's hands so that Anna sat up facing her. Anna made a move to get off the couch, but Elsa held on. "Please don't go," Elsa pleaded.

"You know I have to," Anna replied sadly.

Elsa shook her head. "No, you don't," she contradicted. Elsa laid a finger on Anna's cuff. "These aren't working right now," she explained. "The State has no idea where anyone is."

"And how do you know this?" Anna asked.

"It might have been one of my errands this evening," Elsa admitted.

Anna looked at her, not saying anything before slamming her fists down and jumping off of the couch, her back to Elsa. Startled, Elsa's eyes widened, and she waited apprehensively as her obviously angry Apprentice turned back towards her. "Today makes so much more sense now," Anna ranted, shaking her head. "No wonder you were so weird all day. I would have been too if I was planning dinner, sabotage and seduction all in the space of a few hours. What the Pillars were you thinking?! I thought I asked you not to do anything stupid!"

Elsa was truly shocked at the anger coming from Anna. It had never occurred to her that anything she had been undertaking tonight could be considered "stupid". Ill-advised would be apt, but not stupid. "What did I do that was so wrong?" she asked finally, still perplexed.

"You did something that you could be executed for so we could have sex!" Anna yelled, still fuming.

"And?" Elsa prompted, starting to get angry herself. "I was the Ice Queen long before I met you and I am the best at what I do. If I thought it was too risky, I wouldn't have done it. Case in point: when I had gotten rid of my cuff and chip, I thought about coming over to your quarters. That would have been stupid, because the dorms are far more exposed and I could easily have been caught without my electronics. But, I didn't do the stupid thing. Instead I went with the mission that I had been planning for months, the one I knew I could complete, the one I knew would give us a few precious hours of privacy." Now really pissed, Elsa let loose with her final tirade. "And just for the record, yes, I thought that maybe our relationship might progress to intimacy tonight. But, I went on that fucking mission just because I really wanted to spend some time with you, not because I wanted to fuck you," she stated coldly.

The emphatic expletives snapped Anna out of her anger. She had known Elsa long enough to know that as educated, cultured and refined as Elsa was, her earthy Proletariat upbringing caused her to cuss like her fisherman father when she was upset. Two expletives in rapid succession meant Elsa was really upset, and Anna hadn't meant to upset her. Anna sighed, returning to the couch and sitting down in front of Elsa. "I didn't mean to make you mad," Anna told Elsa apologetically, and the icy-cold stare started to melt. "I know that you are amazing at what you do, and I do trust you not to get caught. I just worry so much about you being taken away from me that any time you put yourself in danger, it scares the shit out of me," Anna said bluntly, using an expletive of her own to get her point across. "Even though tonight has been perfect, all I could think about was you getting arrested, and I overreacted." Anna took Elsa's hands and Anna could see the rest of the anger melt away. "Just don't expect me to apologize for it," Anna stated, her smile coming back. "You've taught me too well, and besides, I will never apologize for caring about you and worrying about you."

Elsa smiled at that. "Good, I'm glad that you've learned something after all these months," she teased, before growing serious again. "I shouldn't have snapped either, Anna," she admitted. "I guess I am not used to having to answer to anyone, even if that anyone has my best interests in mind."

"No, it's okay; I get it," Anna replied, stroking the hands she still held. There was stillness for a few seconds as they looked at one another, but Anna broke it by asking a question. "Do you still want me to stay?" she asked.

Elsa opened her mouth to answer, but as she did, a loud horn sounded throughout the building and Campus, signifying that Quiet Hours had become a Lockdown. Elsa quirked a smile. "Well, it looks like you have to stay regardless," she pointed out smugly.

"Don't deflect," Anna chastised her. "Answer the question."

Elsa's smirk faded, and she lifted the hands that she was clasping to her lips. "I want you to stay more than anything," she whispered, kissing them gently. "But I'll sleep on the couch if this isn't your choice."

Anna smiled. "You are always my choice," she said lovingly. Acting more boldly than she felt, Anna stood up and pulled Elsa with her, never letting go of her until they were both standing in Elsa's bedroom. They stood there awkwardly looking at one another until Elsa couldn't stand it anymore. She drew Anna in for a kiss that Anna responded to without hesitation and the uncomfortable tension was broken. Hands started to roam, and articles of clothing started to end up on the floor until pale, freckled skin slid across even paler cool skin.

Elsa took in the sight of Anna's bare skin, her fingertips tracing the freckles. "They really do go everywhere," she said with a wide smile of wicked delight that caused Anna to shiver in anticipation as she felt Elsa gently backing her towards the bed. Anna stumbled a bit as her legs hit the mattress, but Elsa steadied her and lowered her gently to the sheets.

Elsa took control, and Anna let her have it, knowing that someone with a personality like Elsa's would be more comfortable being in charge. Besides, the whole night lay ahead of them, and for Elsa, Anna could be patient. Startled out of her musings by a talented mouth, Anna whimpered, and with the whimper, Elsa's intensity increased. "I really have to ask her about the whimpering thing," was Anna's last rational thought before she slipped past the point of caring about anything but the woman above her.

Elsa as a lover was much like Elsa as a person; she was a study of contrasts that all converged into one fascinating package that demanded Anna worship her. Her touches were precise almost to the point of being clinical, like sex was a test she had studied for; yet, those same touches were infused with such raw passion that Anna never doubted their emotional authenticity. She was demanding and insistent, her hands and mouth tracing whatever path they felt like over Anna's body; yet, those same hands and mouth were gentle, coaxing rather than forcing Anna into higher and higher ecstasy until she completely lost control, then delicately holding her and kissing her as she came back down.

Elsa felt Anna begin to calm, her face burrowing into Elsa's chest as she tried to catch her breath. Elsa's grip around her tightened, and Anna relaxed further. Knowing that the time had probably crept into early morning and they needed to rest, Elsa looked for the discarded covers of her bed, intending to draw them up so they could both go to sleep. Anna quickly figured out what she was doing, though, and Elsa found herself flat on her back with Anna straddling her. "If you think that we are going to sleep, you are delusional," Anna informed her, wide awake with her mischievous energy back at full strength.

"I'm all right," Elsa protested. "It's late and we need to get to sleep."

"I need to touch you far more than I need sleep," Anna said, her gaze turning lustful when she surveyed the gorgeous body underneath her. "And you don't get to have all the fun."

"But…" Elsa began, but she was cut off when Anna reached down to kiss her. Her mouth didn't stay on Elsa's for long though, and soon it was moving lower. Elsa gasped as Anna's lips and tongue started to tease her already-sensitive breasts, causing her already-tenuous control on her emotions to start to give way completely. Elsa panicked, not knowing what would happen if she let herself lose control, and her cold hands started to push Anna away. "Anna, please stop," she pleaded in a whisper.

Hearing the panic and feeling the cold, Anna sat up immediately, slipping off Elsa to lie at her side. "What's wrong? What am I doing wrong?" she asked anxiously.

"Nothing. It's not you. It's me," Elsa said quickly, hating the worry she saw in Anna's eyes after she had turned to face her. Her short explanation caused the worry to deepen not to dissipate, so Elsa decided to be completely truthful. "When you started to touch me, it felt so good that I started to lose control of my emotions. My powers are unpredictable when I lose control of my emotions and I don't want to hurt you," she confessed. She tentatively looked across to Anna to see what her reaction might be, and the look of love and pure adoration on Anna's face relaxed her considerably.

"You would never hurt me on purpose," Anna replied confidently, reaching out her hand to stroke the face that was so close to her own. "And even if you did freeze me accidentally, it wouldn't matter. Love always makes the snow and ice go away, right, like it did when we kissed at the construction site?" she inquired. At Elsa's hesitant nod, Anna nodded herself and sat up, gently pushing Elsa back onto her back and resuming her former position on top of her. "Then we have nothing to worry about," Anna said, her hands starting to caress the body beneath her. "With the way I feel about you, your ice doesn't stand a chance," she purred, bending down and capturing Elsa's lips.

Still fearful but no longer panicked, Elsa gave herself over to that touch and those lips, but kept her hands above her head as a precaution. Anna noticed but didn't comment, preferring to use her mouth for more worthwhile pursuits. Elsa closed her eyes, letting the sensations wash over her as Anna's skill made itself known.

From the confidence in her touch, it was clear this wasn't Anna's first time, but Elsa had expected that; Plebes lived in sparingly supervised coed dorms with every last one of them, male or female on foolproof chemical birth control. They could explore everything about their sexualities without any repercussions and they were encouraged to do so as long as it didn't develop into a relationship. How ironic it was then that Elsa had needed a relationship to explore her sexuality; even in this, Elsa couldn't help but defy the State.

Anna's hand faltered and Elsa opened her eyes in confusion, her body protesting the unwanted interruption. She looked up, only to see Anna looking down at her worriedly. "What is it?" Elsa asked concernedly.

"You're a, um…you've never, um…am I your first?" Anna blurted out nervously.

"Yes," Elsa confirmed, bringing her hands down from their banishment and drawing Anna in for a kiss, hoping to reassure her. Anna relaxed somewhat and she started to kiss and caress Elsa again, her touches at first tentative but becoming more confident as Elsa's movements and vocalizations encouraged her. Anna's hands and mouth began to overwhelm Elsa again, and she put her hands back over her head as the sensation became too much and she could feel herself losing control.

Much to Elsa's surprise, Anna frowned and used her free hand to pull Elsa's right hand back. Anna kissed it and then placed it over her heart. Elsa's eyes widened and she tried to pull the hand away, but Anna shook her head. "You don't have to protect me; I'm not afraid," she whispered. Elsa struggled, trying to find a way to either get her hand away from Anna or get control of herself, but Anna's one hand was grasping hers far too tightly and the other was driving her closer to the edge. She tried to close her eyes, but Anna forestalled her. "Look at me, Elsa," she commanded Elsa gently. Elsa did, staring up at blue-green eyes that held nothing but love for her. "It's okay; you can let go. Just let it go, my love," Anna encouraged softly. Elsa felt the last of her control crumble and she cried out as a million different emotions and sensations surged through her, unable to hold it back anymore.

Anna removed the completely warm hand she was holding over her heart and kissed it tenderly as Elsa's body slowly stopped trembling. She shifted herself so that she was beside of Elsa instead of on top of her, and she felt Elsa relax before her Master turned on her side and spooned her. Sighing in contentment, Anna relaxed into her embrace. Elsa kissed her neck before conjuring a small blizzard to bring the discarded covers to them. Once they were covered, Elsa turned off the lights and they both fell asleep.

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

Anna blinked groggily as light taps on her nose brought her out of a deep sleep. She tried to focus, but her eyes didn't seem to be working and they started to close again. The taps returned, and Anna woke up a little more. Her eyes were more cooperative this time, and she was able to focus on a fluffy white cat that was stationed by her pillow. "Olaf?" she questioned sleepily, rousing the woman who was wrapped around her.

Elsa glanced at her antique clock, blinking. "This is usually when I wake up," she mumbled. "The cuff alarms must be out, but someone's stomach knows exactly what time it is."

"Will he go away if I ignore him?" Anna asked, not wanting to move.

"No," Elsa replied, snuggling into Anna's back. "It's one of the reasons I'm never late to work."

Anna sighed. She started to close her eyes again, but the tapping started again, so she reluctantly threw back the covers, disentangled herself from Elsa, grabbed a robe and plodded into the kitchen. She located Olaf's food bowl, scooped some food into it and put it down, leaving him to munch happily as she made her way back to the bedroom. The robe was discarded and she crawled back into bed, smiling sentimentally when she saw Elsa had fallen back to sleep already.

Anna looked at the blonde woman sleeping across from her and her smile got wistful. It did feel just as wonderful as she thought it would to wake up in Elsa's arms. She was just as adorable as Anna thought she would be with her hair all askew and her body relaxed in sleep, and Anna couldn't stop herself from tucking a strand of pale blond hair back behind her ear. Elsa murmured something incomprehensible and scooted closer to Anna, sighing in contentment when Anna closed the distance between them and they were snuggled back together. Anna had never felt so loved in her entire life and even as she drifted back off to sleep, her smile remained.

About an hour or so later, the compulsory communications screen that every Plebian dorm contained flickered to life in Elsa's bedroom, displaying the Patrician symbol when it had turned on completely. The emergency broadcast alert sounded shortly thereafter, and both of the women in the bed were startled awake. "Attention, all Campus personnel!" a booming voice commanded. "There has been another attack by the domestic terrorist known as the Ice Queen, and all cuff-based communications have been rendered inoperable. In order to maintain Campus safety, all Campus personnel are ordered to stay where they are at until the problem has been resolved and you are given the all-clear. Any person caught outside will be arrested on sight. Please stay tuned for further developments. Screens off." At this final command, the screen turned itself back off and the room was dark and silent once more.

Even in the darkened room, Elsa could see Anna's wide grin. "Yes! Day off courtesy of the Ice Queen!" Anna celebrated.

"I have a computer in my home office, Apprentice," Elsa reminded her with a frown. "We can still do work." Anna looked at her, crestfallen, until Elsa broke out into a teasing grin. "Or, I could teach you how to make pancakes," she offered. Anna's grin came back, and she leaned over to kiss Elsa. The kiss deepened, but Anna's stomach growled and Elsa broke away from her laughing while Anna blushed.

Elsa climbed out of bed and went to her dresser, rifling around in a drawer until she came up with a t-shirt and a pair of cotton shorts that she threw at Anna. Rummaging in the same drawer, she came up with another pair of shorts that she slipped on and a V-neck shirt that she threw over her head. Anna pouted at the lack of scenery. "And why do we have to get dressed?" she whined.

"I don't cook in the nude," Elsa stated. "Especially when there are Apprentice cooks around."

Anna frowned petulantly and looked at the clothes she had been thrown. "What's Arendelle Academy?" she asked, noting both the shorts and the shirt declared their allegiance to it.

"My secondary school," Elsa answered. Anna looked intrigued and opened her mouth to ask a question, but Elsa shook her head. "Before you ask, no, I am not telling you anything about my years as an awkward teenager," she said firmly. "Now put them on and come with me to the kitchen."

Anna sighed as she pouted. "Yes, Master," she said sarcastically, dragging herself out of bed, putting the clothes on and following Elsa out of the room.

Elsa busied herself by getting the various ingredients she needed from various cupboards before getting the bacon, butter, buttermilk and eggs from the refrigerator. She turned on the oven, put the bacon on a rack and put it into the oven before washing her hands. She set the timer and turned her attention to Anna and the pancakes. "Here," she said, propping up her tablet in its kitchen stand and turning it to Anna, "this is recipe for the batter. You put together the dry ingredients and I'll get the wet ones together. Then I'll show you how to cook the cakes." When the redhead just looked at her apprehensively instead of moving, Elsa gave Anna a kiss and a swat on the butt to get her going. "You'll do fine," she promised, pulling out a saucepan to melt the butter.

"Says the woman who refused to let me bring dinner if I was cooking it," Anna jokingly reminded her.

"Even you can't screw up dry ingredients," Elsa teased. Anna still looked skeptical, but she followed the recipe as it was written, and pretty soon a nice pile of white stuff lay in a bowl. "See, I knew you could do it," Elsa praised her, as she poured her buttermilk, egg and melted butter mixture into the flour. She carefully stirred it together, stopping when the batter was just moistened through. "First rule of pancakes: don't over mix. Your pancakes will be tough because you've developed the gluten," Elsa said.

"Am I supposed to know what that means?" Anna inquired with her impish grin.

"Not really," Elsa admitted. "You just need to make sure not to over mix your pancakes." Anna laughed and stuck a finger in the batter to taste it. "Get out of there!" Elsa commanded, slapping Anna's hand away. Anna withdrew her hand but stole the spatula and as Elsa made a move to retrieve it, the timer for the bacon went off. Shaking her head, Elsa went to check on it, and seeing it was done, pulled it from the oven. She then turned her attention back to Anna who was doing her best to look innocent. "Give it back," Elsa ordered.

"No," Anna retorted with a grin. Sighing, Elsa tried to grab it, but Anna held tight, and as they struggled, a big dollop of batter fell off the spatula right into the V of Elsa's shirt. Elsa sighed, but Anna's eyes lit up when she saw where it had landed. "Let me clean that up for you, Master," she offered, lowering her head to rid Elsa of the offending material. Elsa's eyes closed and she let out the tiniest of whimpers as Anna's mouth explored, reminding of Anna of something she had wanted to ask Elsa about. Anna lifted her head from Elsa's chest and removed the spatula from Elsa's now-willing hand, dumping it in the sink before it made a mess. She encircled Elsa's waist with her arms and a speculative smile appeared. Elsa looked at her, wondering what the sudden smirk was about. "Your reaction to my cleaning skills brought up a question for me, Master," Anna began, and Elsa waited for the conclusion. "Why does my whimpering arouse you so much?" Anna finished.

Elsa blinked and then blushed, but decided to answer honestly. "It's the sound you make in my more erotic dreams about you," she admitted with a sheepish smile. "Apparently I find it even more erotic in real life."

Anna laughed, impressed at the frank honesty. "You really are amazing," she said affectionately, leaning across and kissing Elsa.

Elsa smiled as she kissed Anna back. "So are you," she murmured. The kiss quickly grew more intense, and the pancakes were forgotten as Elsa started to back Anna up against the pantry.

Just as her hand glided underneath Anna's shirt and Anna's started to reach for her shorts, a bracing voice stopped them cold. "Well, if this isn't cozy," the voice mocked.

Elsa and Anna turned around to find the Master Detective from the IRB standing in the doorway to the kitchen. "Good morning, ladies," she sneered. As they looked at her in shock, she oozed into the kitchen followed by a distraught-looking Hua Ping and two Thinker Constables. "Arrest them," she ordered the Constables.


	8. Inevitable Consequences

Chapter 8 – Inevitable Consequences

"I wouldn't touch me if I were you," Elsa warned the Constables in a voice that was neither angry nor loud, but that echoed with an authority that no Thinker would dare disobey. Wisely, the Thinker Constables stayed motionless and looked at the only other Master in the room.

"Perfect!" the Master Detective cackled. "Now I get to add resisting arrest to the existing charges."

"I'm not resisting anything," Elsa contradicted. "I am just invoking the law and you know it. Only Masters may arrest Masters. Besides, I don't like being touched by anyone I don't know, and the State does allow me to express that discomfort." She turned to Anna, who was quietly watching everything from behind Elsa. "I won't allow you to go out in public looking like that," Elsa stated firmly. "Go into the master bath and get cleaned up. I have a spare uniform that you can wear so that you look presentable. I'll lay everything out for you when I finish cleaning up the kitchen."

"Yes, Master," Anna said automatically, letting her hands fall from Elsa's waist and heading for the bedroom.

"Now wait just a damn minute," the Master Detective protested, but Anna ignored her and disappeared behind the bedroom door. She turned to glare at the Master Architect, but Elsa held her gaze with no fear. Angered, the Master Detective stepped up into Elsa's private space. "What do you think you are doing, Plebian?" the Detective demanded. "This is not a request for an interview; you are being arrested. You don't have any power or authority now."

"Oh but I do," Elsa countered, her voice icy and menacing as she unexpectedly stepped even closer to the Master Detective. "I outrank you, and you have made at least two career-threatening mistakes by coming into my quarters unannounced and bringing Thinkers to arrest me. So with that in mind, I suggest you leave me alone so that I can finish what needs to be done or this experience will not be pleasant for either of us."

The Master Detective scowled, but the mix of arrogance, authority and implicit threat coming from the Architect was a potent one, especially since the Architect was correct in her interpretation of the law. "Fine," the Detective spat, backing off.

Elsa didn't say anything but looked at the Thinkers including Hua Ping who were still in her kitchen. With that frigid glare, they quickly excused themselves and went into the living room. Satisfied at her success at making the IRB back off, Elsa turned to the task at hand of cleaning up the kitchen. The batter and the bacon were wrapped up and put into the refrigerator, after which all of the ingredients were put back into their cupboards. The few dishes they had generated were rinsed and put into the dishwasher, and finally the counters were wiped down. With Elsa's efficiency the whole process took about five minutes, and when she was done, Elsa headed towards her bedroom, purposely ignoring the people watching her from her living room.

After the bedroom door slid closed behind her, Elsa gave a small, frustrated sigh before relaxing slightly. Now feeling a little calmer, she went over to her closet, finding her spare uniform and its accompanying blouse. She studied the blouse for a bit, and after contemplating what they were being brought in for, discarded it in favor of the uniform turtleneck so that some evidence would remain hidden. She brought both pieces out and laid them on the bed before scanning the bedroom floor. Spying what she was looking for, she picked up Anna's bra and put it by the uniform. Anna's panties were in no condition to be worn again before washing, however, so Elsa dumped them in the laundry hamper and went to get a new pair of hers, hoping the size and style would be acceptable.

Still trying to clear her thoughts through organization and cleaning, Elsa picked up the rest of the clothes off the floor, rescuing her own bra before dropping the pile into the laundry hamper. Seeing nothing else to distract herself with, Elsa sighed, peeled off the V-neck shirt and shorts, put those in the hamper and headed towards the bathroom. She quietly opened the door and slipped in, not wanting to startle Anna. She paused, not knowing if joining Anna was truly a good idea or not, but then she heard the soft sobbing. "Anna?" Elsa said, loudly enough to be heard but not loudly enough to startle. The shower door opened slightly and Anna's distraught face peered out, causing Elsa to forget about everything except comforting her.

Elsa slid the door open further and slipped in, the hot water cascading down her back as she turned to face Anna. Elsa closed the door before taking a step closer to Anna and wrapping her Apprentice in her arms. "Shhh," Elsa soothed, rubbing Anna's back gently. "I've got you."

Anna cried against Elsa's chest for a few seconds more before looking up. "You're not mad at me?" she asked hesitantly.

"Mad at you? Why would I be mad at you?" Elsa asked, perplexed.

"Because I messed up your perfect life and I got you investigated and I make you do stupid things and your cat likes me more and I can't cook and I got you arrested, and…" Anna babbled, stopping only when Elsa grabbed Anna's face in her hands and kissed her passionately.

"My life was miserable before you became my Apprentice," Elsa growled after she had kissed some sense into Anna. "I will never regret anything that I've shared with you or done because of you. You are my life now, Anna; nothing the State does will ever change that."

Anna looked at Elsa and sighed. "I know all that," she admitted, finally calming down. "But a part of me still believes that my becoming your Apprentice put your life in danger somehow, and I guess seeing the IRB in the living room brought all that guilt back."

"I don't care who is in my living room," Elsa stated, "and because of who I am, my life has been in danger from the moment I was born. Your being a part of my life doesn't change that one way or the other."

"I know, I know," Anna assured her. "I'm being stupid."

"Not stupid, just scared," Elsa said sympathetically, and drew Anna in for another kiss. The kiss escalated rapidly, surprising them both, and their bodies merged together. After a few moments, they broke apart panting, the water still coming down around them as their breaths mingled. "We're being arrested for this," Anna protested, even as Elsa's lips found her neck. "There are IRB people in the living room."

"And?" Elsa murmured, her mouth going lower.

"Let them wait," Anna decided with a gasp.

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

Hua Ping idly tapped buttons on her tablet, trying to do something as the awkward silence in the living room grew more and more uncomfortable. She glanced at her cuff and scowled. If the damn thing had been working, her texts would have gone through and she would have been able to warn Ginger and her Master that the IRB had figured out what they were doing and were coming to arrest them. Sighing softly, she glanced back at the tablet, and her brow contracted as it started blinking with an Interface alert. She accessed the Interface monitor, which was set to follow Ginger and her Master because of their current assignment, and scanned their biometrics to see what had instigated an alert. Her eyes widened as she easily picked up a tell-tale pattern, and she glanced towards the bedroom door with a slight blush. It was clear now why they were taking so long, and she hoped this last act of defiance wouldn't come back to hurt them both.

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

Anna emerged alone from the bathroom, tightening her towel around her as the cool bedroom air made her shiver slightly. She saw the clothes laid out on the bed, but she ignored them in favor of the vanity which held toiletries and a hair brush. She brushed her hair and braided it, eschewing her usual two braids for one braid that she secured into a bun in the hopes it looked more refined. She used Elsa's body cream to moisturize and just a touch of her makeup to accentuate things here and there before going back to the bed to start dressing. She was thankful for the clean underwear; she hated going commando in the uniform because the pants tended to be itchy. She snapped off the tags and put the underwear on before reaching for her bra and securing that as well. She slipped the turtleneck carefully over her hair and face, pleased with how much evidence it covered before putting on the pants and blazer. The only thing remaining was her boots and socks, but she had left those in the living room, so she straightened up her shoulders, took a calming breath and left the bedroom. Everyone looked at her when she walked in, but Anna just focused on finding her boots. She found them sitting by the couch with her socks tucked in them, so she had a seat on the couch and put everything on, lacing up her boots and pulling her pant legs over them.

"Where's your Master?" the Master Detective asked abruptly, startling everyone by breaking the pervasive silence.

"She is still getting ready," Anna replied, getting up off the couch. Unnerved by the creepy awkwardness, she walked into the kitchen, getting several bottles of water from the refrigerator. She offered one to Hua Ping, who took it with a small, grateful smile. She also offered some to the other two Thinkers, who looked at her in surprise. "You guys have been here a while," she explained, her face open and honest as it always was. "I thought you might be thirsty."

One of the Thinkers, the shorter one, glanced at the Master Detective, before reaching out and taking a bottle. "Thank you, Miss," he said, with a kindly nod. Anna smiled at him and he blushed. Seeing her smile, the other Thinker gave in and wordlessly reached for a bottle herself, which Anna happily gave to her.

Elsa shook her head as she quietly observed from the doorway. Leave it to Anna to completely charm the people who were coming to arrest her. She watched for a couple of seconds more and even the Master Detective took the proffered water. Elsa smirked before putting her Ice Queen mask on and striding into the living room. All heads turned, and Elsa just barely managed to keep her icy mask in place when Anna's mouth opened of its own accord, and the rest of them just stared. Apparently her choice of apparel was having the desired effect.

The Master Detective stared in spite of herself at the authoritative figure that had emerged from the bedroom. The Master Architect, unlike her Apprentice, was not wearing the Architecture uniform. Instead, she was wearing her formal State uniform, its clean military lines sharp and its medals gleaming. The Master Architect's whole Plebian life was displayed on that uniform; her rank insignia, her Thread and Pillar and her numerous accolades and commendations were represented by medals and patches that were meticulously placed into their proper positions. The sheer number of them spoke to her importance, and she had finished off her imposing look with mirror-shined boots and a bun where not a hair dared be out of place.

"I'm ready when you are," Elsa stated, snapping everyone else in room out of their trance. The IRB team gathered themselves quickly, but Anna was content to stand and stare for a few moments longer, her eyes unabashedly admiring Elsa in her well-tailored uniform. It was only when her eyes wandered up to Elsa's face and Anna saw the chiding look there that she blushed and started following everyone else out of the living space.

Because of the lockdown, Campus was very quiet and few people, mostly Enforcers, were around to witness the odd spectacle of two impeccably-dressed Plebes being escorted across the square by an IRB detail. The few who did see stopped and stared briefly before either the Master Architect or the Master Detective's pointed look caused them to continue with what they were doing. They reached the IRB headquarters without any trouble, and when they arrived, the group separated. The Thinker Constables were dismissed, Hua Ping took custody of Anna and led her off in one direction while the Master Detective took custody of Elsa and led her off in the other.

Their separation didn't surprise either Elsa or Anna; the IRB was more likely to get more useful information if they divided to conquer. That was why, after Anna had stopped whimpering Elsa's name in the shower, Elsa had gently insisted they discuss their testimony as Anna rested in her arms. They had strategized, they had argued, but ultimately they had decided their best plan was to claim Elsa was abusing her Master's authority by pressuring Anna into the illicit relationship. It happened all the time, unfortunately, so it was a reasonable explanation, and the consequences would befall Elsa, whose lofty place in society was better able to handle official Censure. Anna was a bad liar, though, so she hoped she could answer how she was supposed to. Hua Ping stopped at a door and Anna followed suit, waiting until Hua Ping entered a code and the door opened. Hua Ping indicated that she should enter, so Anna did, noting with subdued relief that the room was empty, meaning that Hua Ping was most likely going to be her Interrogator. Seeing two chairs, she went and sat down in one. The door slid shut behind Hua Ping as she took the remaining chair and Anna looked up, waiting patiently for the first question.

On the other side of the building, Elsa calmly followed the Master Detective down the deserted hallway. They started down one hallway, but stopped when the Detective received a message on her tablet. The Detective paled and instantly turned around, leading them to a different room. Elsa was intrigued but said nothing as she entered the room after the Detective had opened the door. Elsa waited for the Master Detective to join her, but a second door opened on the side of the room and two completely unexpected visitors joined her instead. Elsa's eyebrow quirked involuntarily, but there was no other reaction as the two older women came into the room and seated themselves. After they were comfortably settled, Elsa bowed deeply as protocol deemed she must. "Patrician Solver and Patrician Historian, you honor me with your presence," she said formally, her hope fading as she stood before two of the most powerful women in her world.

Hua Ping and Anna both looked up when the door opened to reveal the Master Detective. "There has been a change of plan, Thinker," the Master Detective told Hua Ping. "Please escort the Apprentice to room AFL45."

"Of course, Master," Hua Ping answered. Anna looked at her questioningly, but Hua Ping slightly shook her head. She had no idea what was going on either. Hua Ping gathered up her things and the three of them went to the room where Elsa was being held. The door opened and Anna followed the Master and Thinker into the room.

Anna's eyes widened as she saw who was sitting calmly in the chairs in front of Elsa, and the looks on the faces of the ladies she had come in with indicated they were just as shocked. They all bowed as decorum demanded, and being the Master, the Detective was the one to speak. "You honor us with your presence, Patricians," she said reverently.

"Let the Apprentice step forward and take her place beside her Master," the Historian, a heavy-set woman with white hair and oddly-purplish skin, ordered. Anna swallowed nervously, but did as she was told. As a mere Apprentice, she couldn't speak to a Patrician unless spoken to directly, so she stood beside Elsa and waited, her head bowed. "Please be seated, all of you," the Historian stated, and all four of them sat in hastily-arranged chairs.

The two Patricians studied Elsa, the one person who was looking directly at them with no fear. If the both of them had not been following both this case and the Master Architect's career very closely for a very long time, they never would have guessed that their treasured Architect was the one being questioned. She sat at attention proudly in an impeccable State uniform, her features sharp and radiating an intelligence and beauty that was virtually unmatched by anyone in the State. Her attitude was one of respect, but not fawning, as if she considered the Patricians greater than her, but only just barely.

Unbeknownst to Elsa, these Patricians had been following her progress throughout her entire Plebian life. With her near-perfect test scores in most disciplines and relentless ambition, she had attracted their attention immediately as she seemed to be the perfect candidate for their plans. As her career had skyrocketed and her reputation crystalized into a cold infamy, she had only heightened her candidacy with them and now her destiny was set; she would become the first Patrician to be come from the Proletariat. As such, she would be the living embodiment of the ideals of the State, that anyone with intelligence and ambition, no matter how lowborn, could rise to the very top. Neither one of the Patricians present was going to allow this trivial incident to derail their long-held plans or alter that image, so they had taken charge of her questioning themselves.

"Why are you here, Architect?" Patrician Solver, the head of the Mathematics Thread asked, her piercing green eyes shining under the stripe of white prominent in her upswept grey hair.

"I am accused of having an unsanctioned relationship with my Apprentice," Elsa answered in an even tone.

"And are you?" the Solver prompted.

Elsa considered this. "No," she decided.

The Historian smirked at the simple answer. As befitting her reputation, it seemed the Architect would offer no additional information unless asked. She consulted her tablet, looking over the case file. "You were questioned a week ago about this very issue, were you not?" she questioned.

"We were, yes," Elsa confirmed.

"Then why are you being brought in for it today?" the Historian continued.

"I am not privy to the IRB's methodology, but I would assume it would be because the Interface calculated that we were having sex," Elsa said matter-of-factly. Anna couldn't help the light blush that suddenly graced her cheeks.

"And were you?" the Historian asked.

"Yes," Elsa answered, still emotionless, as the color on Anna's cheeks darkened.

"How long have you two been in an intimate relationship?" the Solver asked, joining the conversation again.

Elsa glanced at the clock behind the Patricians. "About twelve hours," she calculated.

The Patricians glanced at one another before turning their attention back to the Architect. "So you initiated a sexual relationship after you had already been warned by the IRB that you were under investigation?" the Solver asked with mild incredulity.

"Yes," Elsa answered.

"Why?" the Historian demanded.

Elsa shrugged. "I wanted her," she said. "I've wanted her from the moment I laid eyes on her. I held myself back in the interest of being a good Master, but the IRB decided my actions meant love and questioned me. That made me realize being a good Master was overrated and I took what I wanted."

The Historian chuckled, unable to stop herself. "So that's why the Apprentice is wearing the turtleneck on a beautiful day like today," she hypothesized with a smirk. As there was no question, Elsa didn't answer, but the Historian knew that she was correct. "So why did you wait another week?" the Historian questioned. "Why not the night after you were visited?"

"I was still attempting to be a good Master," Elsa replied. "Then I saw her away from work for the first time two days ago, and I decided I was through with doing the right thing."

"I see," the Solver commented, studying the Architect before looking at the Apprentice. "What is your side of this story, Apprentice?" she asked, and Anna looked up. "Did your Master initiate the sexual aspect of your relationship or did you?" the Historian asked.

Anna thought carefully and realized this question was easier than she expected it to be. "My Master initiated our intimate contact, Patrician," she answered truthfully.

"In what way?" the Solver questioned.

"She kissed me first, she was the one who invited me to dinner two nights ago and she was the one that convinced me to stay last night even after I said I had to go home," Anna explained.

"Why did you want to go home? Were your Master's advances making you uncomfortable? Was she forcing you to do something you did not want to?" the Historian asked, with an accusing edge to her voice and an angry look at Elsa.

A potential rape charge against Elsa had been Anna's biggest reason for disliking this plan, so she refuted this thought immediately. "Of course not, Patrician, she would ever force me to do anything I didn't want to. She isn't that type of person," Anna said emphatically.

"Then why did you want to leave?" the Historian persisted.

"I didn't want to leave," Anna contradicted. "I wanted to give myself to her in every way I could. But, I knew we were being investigated and I didn't want her to get in trouble over something as trivial as sex."

"Then why did you stay?" the Solver cut in.

"She's my Master and she asked me to," Anna said simply, hoping that answer would be enough.

The Solver didn't comment but turned her attention back to the Architect. "According to the Interface, you two had another intimate encounter this morning after the IRB had come to arrest you. What was the meaning of that, Architect?" she asked, hoping to shock the Architect into revealing something.

Elsa's face remained impassible even as she cursed her fucking implant. She should have known the chip would have reported on that as well. "My Apprentice was wet and naked in the shower, and apparently my desire had not been satiated the night before," she said with the same emotionless inflection she had used for the entire interview. "To her credit, my Apprentice did attempt to dissuade me by pointing out that we were being arrested for just such an occurrence and that there was an IRB contingent in the living room, but I found those factors did little to discourage me."

"Hm," the Solver said noncommittally. "Is this true, Apprentice?" she inquired. "Did you attempt to stop anything from occurring this morning?"

"Yes, Patrician, I did," Anna confirmed.

The two Patricians looked at each other and nodded. "We need time to confer," the Historian announced. "Master Detective, Thinker Detective, please escort these two next-door. We will contact you when we are ready to render a decision."

"Yes, Patricians," the Master Detective said, immediately rising. Hua Ping, Elsa and Anna did the same and the four of them left the room. The Master Detective punched in a code for the room next door, and after the door slid open, the four of them entered. There were more chairs in here, so they all sat and waited in awkward silence. Finally, after only a few torturous minutes, the Master Detective's tablet peeped an alert. She rose and they all followed suit, returning to the room next door. Elsa and Anna went back to their chairs in front of the Patricians while Hua Ping and the Master Detective retook their seats.

Once everyone was seated, the Historian spoke. "It is obvious from the testimony here and the evidence that the Interface has gathered that there is no unsanctioned relationship going on here," she declared, and the Master Detective's face glowered. "In fact, we are not sure why these two were questioned at all," she added pointedly, causing the glower to disappear as the Master Detective paled in fear. "However, now having questioned you both in person, it is also obvious that while there is no relationship at present, the potential is there, and so you two are to be separated. As of now, Master, you no longer have an Apprentice."

Elsa felt her heart breaking, but she remained stoic. "May I ask what influenced your decision, Historian?" she asked.

"Your sudden disregard for your own future," the Historian replied sharply. "You were everything the State could want in a Plebe until she became your Apprentice. Now, you are making ill-advised late night off-Campus visits, you are being questioned by the IRB and you are openly admitting to being unable to control yourself around her. This is not how Plebes should act, and you are ruining everything that you have worked so hard for. You have a destiny, Architect, and neither she nor even you will get in the way of that."

"I thought my destiny was my own," Elsa countered, fighting to keep her anger in check.

"For most in the State, yes, it is," the Solver agreed. "But not for you. You are far too special, Architect, and the State has decided your future for you. After I am no longer fit for service, you have already been chosen to replace me. You will become the next Patrician Solver, head of the Mathematics Pillar, and when you do so, you will become the Proletariat's Patrician, an everlasting symbol of the wisdom and power of the State."

There was a stunned silence in the room at the Solver's proclamation. The other three women were merely shocked, but Elsa was numb. Only one thought kept repeating itself in her head: they were taking away the one thing that she loved more than anything so that she could become the one thing that she hated more than anything. They were going to take away her Anna so that she could become one of them. As the rage started to build, the temperature started to creep downwards, and the encroaching cold snapped Anna out of her shock. Their chairs were close enough that she could reach Elsa, and Anna reached for one of Elsa's hands, unsurprised that it was ice cold. Anna moved her chair closer and began to chafe the hand gently as she kissed it. "Master, look at me," she whispered, ignoring the shocked looks of the Patricians. Elsa reluctantly did so, and she felt her rage melt away as Anna held her gaze. Much to Anna's relief, the hand warmed up and she knew the danger had passed.

Both of the Patricians looked at the Master Architect critically. Her expression never changed, but something had happened when the Solver had told the Master Architect of their plans, something that her Apprentice had picked up on almost instantly, something that had caused the young redhead to comfort her Master. Neither one knew what it was, but they knew it was significant. One thing that they were sure of, though, was that the Master Architect had lied to them. The emotion they had seen pass between the two women was not lust. This was love, and it was clear it ran deeply, much more deeply than either woman's love for the State. That kind of love was a threat, and it had to be neutralized, especially when it jeopardized the State's plans. They shared a look and the Historian sent a message from her tablet. Within seconds, the door opened and an Enforcer strode into the room.

"How may I be of service, Honored Patricians?" he said, with a low bow.

"The Apprentice Architect has been found committing crimes against the State," the Solver said, and all the women looked up in alarm. "Take her down to the lockup and await our further instructions."

Elsa frowned, the first time through all of this that her expression changed, and she stood up slowly, using her body to shield Anna's. "Please move aside, Master," the Enforcer said as he turned to her, and Elsa was stunned to see Beast's crystal blue eyes looking at her. She didn't move, however, until she felt a hand on her arm.

"I'll be all right, Master," Anna promised her, turning Elsa around and hugging her. "Don't do anything stupid," Anna whispered into Elsa's ear. "Find the rest of the Club and plan something to rescue me. Trying to save me here all by yourself is only going to get us both killed."

Elsa didn't like it, but Anna was right. "I will and I'll see you soon," Elsa swore, also in a whisper. "I love you." Anna smiled, and Elsa stood aside, allowing Beast to take Anna's arm. They left the room and Elsa turned her attention back to the Patricians.

"Now that we know you love her, Architect, her future is up to you," the Solver warned. "You know your destiny and if you do not fulfill it, she will pay the consequences."

"If anything happens to her, I will so thoroughly destroy you and your plans for me that you will be forced to execute your beloved 'Proletariat Patrician' in the Campus square," Elsa counter-warned with such icy conviction that the Patricians shivered in spite of themselves. "Am I free to go?" she asked coldly.

"Detectives, escort the Architect back to her quarters," the Historian ordered, and Elsa swept out of the room as Hua Ping and the Master Detective scurried after her.

The Patricians watched them go. "I never would have suspected such emotion out of the Architect," the Solver commented to her colleague.

"She's in love for the first time, Tremaine," the Historian said. "But, she'll learn, as we all did, that love has no place in the State. And when she learns that, she'll embrace her destiny."

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

Elsa sat on her couch gently stroking Olaf's soft fur, desperately trying not to break down and cry. It was all her fault, every bit of it. She had thought disabling the cuffs would be enough to keep them safe, but it hadn't been. The IRB had tracked them anyway and she had prevented Hua Ping from being able to warn them. She hadn't been able to keep her anger in and her powers had started to show, forcing Anna to comfort her in front of the Patricians, causing their obvious love for one another to be on display. She hadn't even been able to save Anna as she was being taken away, because Anna had been right; she would have only succeeded in getting them both killed. She had fucked up in every way that she could, and now Anna was in prison and the only way to save her was to let her go forever. The tears started to flow and Elsa let them, stopping only when her communications panel flickered to life unexpectedly, displaying the Patrician symbol.

"Attention, all Campus personnel!" a booming voice announced. "All cuff-based communications have been restored and the daytime lockdown has been lifted. The Ice Queen remains at large, but one of her co-conspirators has been captured for the crime. The execution of this domestic terrorist will happen tomorrow in the Campus Square at 18:00 hours." A picture of Anna flashed on the screen and Elsa's heart stopped. "All Campus personnel not in essential roles are required to attend," the communication continued. "Screens off."

Elsa stared at the black panel before gently placing Olaf on the ground. She felt the rage building again as she stood and paced. Those fucking bastards had lied to her. They weren't going to use Anna as leverage; they were going to frame her and murder her to teach Elsa a lesson. She took a breath to calm the rage and then reached for her shoes. She needed to get to the Library.

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

The Philosophy Club room was in chaos as all of its members paced, cursed and/or came running into the room breathless at the announcement of Ginger's imminent execution. Even the usually-unflappable Leader was tense, snapping at people when they interrupted her in her frantic search for information. The room was so loud that they didn't notice Elsa's presence as she quietly slipped in and sat in Anna's wingback chair. It was only as things began to calm down and Leader started looking around to see who was there that she noticed the pale blonde.

Leader scowled and she stood up from her desk, coming around from behind it before walking over and glowering over Elsa in the chair. Her actions alerted everyone else to Elsa's presence and the room went silent immediately. "What are you doing here? How dare you even come here?" she asked, her voice outraged and accusing.

"I need help to save her and I promised her I would come here," Elsa replied quietly. Stunned by this admission, Leader remained silent and Elsa took the opportunity to stand up. "I know this is all my fault," her voice quiet as she tried to control her emotions. "Everything that I did to protect her ended up only putting her in harm's way and now she is going to be executed because I fucked up everything. But, I love her too much to let them take her away from me. I will be there tomorrow and the State will know who the Ice Queen is; I will fight until my dying breath to make sure she lives. But, please, I need your help. I need to know that someone will protect her after the State kills me." She sat back down heavily, her eyes falling to the ground.

Leader looked at her, her anger ebbing at Elsa's heartbreak. "If I hadn't seen her be humble with my own eyes, I never would have believed it," she muttered. "Who wants to help her?' she asked resignedly, knowing how her good-hearted people would most likely respond.

"I'll help her," a quiet voice from the back said immediately, and Leader knew Hua Ping would be always be first to help Ginger. She had been in love with Ginger for years and even though Ginger had fallen in love with Morgan, Hua Ping's devotion hadn't faltered.

"We'll help her," Debutante said. "We're suckers for a good romance," she said, smiling an encouraging smile at Elsa.

"If she can throw ice like she throws snow, I'm in," Troll said cheerfully. "I probably won't have to do much," he joked.

Elsa looked around gratefully as more voices chimed in offering their help, and pretty soon everyone had offered except for Leader. "I told you that if you got one of us arrested or executed I would kill you myself," Leader said, and Elsa nodded.

"I remember," Elsa said.

"Don't make me have to keep that promise," Leader warned her.

"I won't," Elsa stated with certainty.

"That's all I needed to hear," Leader responded, her eyes warming. "Besides, this is all my fault too. For the love of the fucking Pillars, why did I assign Ginger to you? If I'd never assigned Ginger to you, none of this would have ever happened," she said in exasperation.

"I'm glad you did," Elsa said, with just a hint of a smirk.

"Yeah, so am I, in a weird way. It means we get to try out all of our emergency evacuation protocols," Leader admitted with a wry grin. She turned around and started doing what she did best: leading. "Rider and Blondie!" she barked.

"Yes, Leader!" they responded.

"You need to do an immediate crown sweep of Ginger's quarters," she said. "Now!" she emphasized when they didn't move immediately.

"Yes, Leader!" they called as they moved towards the door.

Leader turned back to Elsa. "They'll sweep your quarters in the morning. Pack what you need to survive in suitcases and tag them with one of these," she said, going into her desk and retrieving some crown-shaped stickers. "Only the basics, though; we can't carry much," she added.

"Where is it going?" Elsa asked.

"Well, if we pull off this rescue, you can't stay on Campus," Leader explained. "Your things will be waiting for you at the off-Campus safe house. Which reminds me…Bear-Scotty!" she yelled.

"Yes, Leader?" Bear-Scotty yelled back.

"Contact Mama-Bear and tell her that Operation Woodcarver's Hut is a go," Leader stated. Bear-Scotty nodded and moved to find a convenient computer terminal. "Hacker!" Leader called and the spiky-blond head popped up over a computer screen. "Put a tracer on Ginger's cuff signature. I want to know if they move her anywhere," she told him. He nodded and went back to his screen. "Debutante!" Leader bellowed.

"Yes, Leader?" Debutante inquired genteelly.

"Is Big Daddy still the Cotton King?" she asked.

Debutante smiled. "Of course, Leader," she said proudly.

"Then contact him and tell him he has two bales of cotton to pick up in Arendelle. We need packaging, shipping and manufacturing, and I'm sending you the descriptions now," Leader replied.

"Already calling him, Leader," Debutante chirped.

"What's in Arendelle?" Elsa asked uneasily.

"Your parents," Leader replied. "If the State can't find you or Ginger, they'll take it out on them. We need to get them out of there, but don't worry; Big Daddy is the best at what he does and they'll be safe." Before Elsa could thank her, Leader was calling out more names. "Voodoo Queen, Goshen and Troll! I need you over here!" she shouted, and they all came over. "Troll, I'll get you assigned to cover the execution tomorrow. When you are filming, never take the camera off of Morgan and/or Ginger. It will keep the rest of us safe, and it will give the masses something to talk about." Troll nodded and she turned to the two ladies. "Voodoo Queen and Goshen, should Morgan need some help, you two will be providing some distraction," she explained. "Just don't let anyone see you or what you are doing,"

Goshen smirked and brought her hand up, and Elsa leaned forward when a strange green-colored thermal energy started glowing around her hand. Voodoo Queen captured some and turned it into a frog that hopped through the air until it disappeared. "Distractions are our specialty, Leader," Goshen smirked, and Voodoo Queen chuckled as they walked away.

Leader took a breath. "I think there is only one more. Beast and Beastie aren't here, and they will know what to do anyhow," she said. "Hua Ping!" she called and the Thinker came over immediately. "You will need to drop them off at Mama-Bear's tomorrow. Is that okay? Are you willing to do it?" Leader asked, making sure Hua Ping knew she had a choice.

Hua Ping looked at Elsa and smiled. "I would be honored, Leader," she said.

"Good; I'll keep you informed of the pick-up location," Leader said. Hua Ping nodded and went back to her seat.

"What was all that about?" Elsa asked.

"You'll find out tomorrow," Leader said simply. "Now, about tomorrow, we will help you, but you do realize that you will be doing most of this yourself, correct? We have worked far too long and too hard for all of us to get captured trying to rescue one person, even if that person is Ginger."

"I understand, Leader," Elsa responded, "and I do plan on doing most of it myself. I just promised Ginger I would ask."

Leader smiled. "That sounds like our Ice Queen," she said wryly. "Now go home and pack up. We've got it covered here and we'll see you tomorrow."

"I will. Thank you, Leader," Elsa said sincerely and slipped out the door as silently as she had come.

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

Elsa looked around her quarters one last time, satisfied that she had packed everything she needed. She had even washed the clothes in the hamper and packed them so that she could have her black jeans and Anna could have her clothes back. She took another look at her coats, not knowing what the weather would be like where they were settling, but the cold never bothered her anyway, so she rejected them once again. She stacked the cases neatly in the living room and put the stickers on them. She also retrieved a small leather case and put a sticker on it but left it empty. She would put that cargo in its place in the morning.

She went to bed, but the sheets still smelled of Anna and her mind was too preoccupied to think of sleep. She looked around, fully aware that this was probably her last night in this place. By tomorrow night, she would either be dead or with Anna, and either way, she wouldn't be coming back here. Tonight was truly the last night of her Plebian life and she bid goodbye to it happily.


	9. Fulfilled Promises

Chapter 9 – Fulfilled Promises

Anna sat quietly in the holding cell, looking around the drab little space and thinking about how she had ended up here. Beast had told her of sentence already, and though she was surprised, she wasn't shocked. It was obvious from their meeting with the Patricians that Elsa was of utmost importance to them and their plans for the State, and she, a mere Apprentice, stood in the way of those plans. Elsa loved Anna more than she loved the State, so Anna was to be made an example of to bring their perfect Plebe back in line. It was really quite simple.

Anna knew she should probably be more distressed that her life might be taken from her today, but in truth, she wasn't all that overly concerned. She was confidently optimistic that Elsa, the Philosophy Club or a combination of both would find a way to rescue her for one, and even if that didn't happen, she had realized she was pretty okay with dying. She had found the one thing that she had been searching her whole life for, so she could leave her life behind content.

Not that she wanted to die, of course; Anna wanted nothing more than to be free from the State to live out her days with her beautiful Elsa. Anna smiled and lifted her hand to her concealed necklace as she thought of Elsa. It almost frightened her how much she loved her Master. Elsa was a best friend, a lover and a sister wrapped up into one person, a person that Anna at last could call "family". Anna took a contented breath, happy with that thought, and the scent lingering on the clothes she was wearing filled her senses. Anna's thoughts flashed back to the previous night when she had been surrounded by that scent and her skin and body warmed involuntarily.

The vehemence of her body's reaction embarrassed but didn't surprise her. Anna had been in sexual relationships with other people before Elsa; she had lost her virginity to Troll before they both realized they preferred their own genders and there were a few ladies in the Philosophy Club that she had been involved with for a time. But, Elsa did something to her that no one else did. It was so profound that seeing Elsa for the first time had caused Anna to blurt out her name rather than her designation when they had met, an unthinkable breach of protocol that she was still getting teased about and still trying to live down. She would have been content to lust over her beautiful Master, but then by the end of that first evening her Master had called her Anna and become Elsa, and Anna had no chance of stopping herself from falling in love.

Anna sighed, still thinking of Elsa. She pulled the uniform jacket more tightly around herself and crossed her arms, leaning back in her chair. She glanced at the walls once more and closed her eyes. Just a few more hours, she told herself, just a few more hours and this whole Pillars-forsaken thing would be done with, one way or another. And whatever way it turned out, she had absolutely no regrets.

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

Elsa hung her State uniform on the hook in front of her closet, carefully checking for any imperfections. She straightened a ribbon here and there, but for the most part it was perfect, so she moved on to her boots. She spot-polished the boots until they shone and then placed them below the uniform. Satisfied that it would be ready for her when she got back from work, she picked up the jacket to her Architecture uniform and slipped it on, walking into the living as she did so.

Elsa straightened her collar and tucked it into her jacket as she took one last look around the living and dining room space. Blondie and Rider had not yet been here, so her things remained, and she took the opportunity to collect the last few things she wanted to take and store them in the case that she had already marked with a crown sticker. Glancing at her wrist, she noticed it was time to leave, so she headed for the door.

Elsa squared her shoulders as her door slid shut behind her, noting the Enforcer that was waiting as she left her quarters. "I apologize, Master," he said respectfully, "but the Patricians have requested that I accompany you to and from work."

"As they wish," Elsa said simply, not surprised that the Patricians were keeping close tabs on her today. Anna's execution was supposed to be a statement, and it would not be much of a statement if the person it was meant for was not in attendance. She turned and strode down the hall, not caring if the man followed her or not. He did, of course, keeping a respectful distance until she entered the Architecture building. He didn't follow her in, but rather remained outside, and after Elsa had gotten into her office and peered out her out her large windows, she could see him calmly waiting outside for her outside the exit. She shook her head and turned from the window so that she could get started for the day.

With this being her last day as a Citizen of the State, Elsa had decided to make good use of the time by downloading anything and everything she thought could be of use to the Philosophy Club. As a Master, she had access to everything, so within minutes, blueprints for practically every building in the State, from the Great Hall itself to the maintenance shack in a remote corner of Campus had been transferred to her computer awaiting transfer to something portable. A few more searches and downloads later and the security systems and technical specifications joined them. Elsa knew her computer was being monitored, but she was being relatively stealthy, so she was reasonably confident no one would figure out what she was up to until it was far too late.

Transferring all of those large files onto something portable was going to take far longer than initially downloading them had, so Elsa sat back to wait. She looked around her office, looking for something to keep herself occupied when the Office Assistant paged her.

"I'm sorry for disturbing you, Master, but someone has arrived with a package for you and insists that it can only be delivered to you," he said.

"Very well," Elsa replied, apprehensive of whom it might be and what they might be delivering. "I will be out shortly to collect it."

"Of course, Master," the Assistant replied, and the connection was terminated.

Elsa stood up and smoothed out her slacks, coming out from behind her desk to cross her floor and exit her office. Her door slid open and she looked apprehensively into the outer office. Seeing the person waiting for her, her eyes widened in shock before her face settled into an affectionate grin. "Master, it has been far too long," she warmly greeted the short, white-haired and mustached older gentleman that crossed the office to meet her. "What in the Pillars' name are you doing here? Please come into my office," she requested.

The older man's eyes twinkled at her affectionately as she led him from the outer office into her impressive window-lined space and the door slid shut behind them. He looked around and smiled. "This is a nice office," he said admiringly, taking a seat in one of her visitors' chairs.

"Yes, it is," Elsa agreed, taking her own seat as her former Master chuckled slightly. "So, what are you doing here?" she asked.

Her Master's demeanor sobered somewhat. "I heard about your Apprentice," he replied in sympathy.

Any trace of good humor disappeared from Elsa's face. "Yes, it is unfortunate, but all will be remedied shortly," she said confidently, and much to her surprise, her former Master broke out into a wide smile.

"I would expect nothing less from you, Apprentice," he said, a knowing smirk replacing the smile. Elsa stared at him quizzically, and he nodded. "We have some mutual friends," he said cryptically, confirming her suspicions that he knew of her plans somehow. "But I didn't come by to remind you of unhappiness," he said, changing the subject smoothly. "I came to cheer you up." He produced a package from behind his back and handed it to Elsa. "I hope this will do the trick. Several people agonized over it for several hours," he told Elsa as she turned the package over in her hands. She went to pull off the bow, but her Master's gentle hand stopped her. "Open it private, dear," he advised her, squeezing her hand before letting it go. "Your reputation might suffer if you opened it here."

Elsa's curiosity flared at that gentle advice and she was now incredibly interested to learn what was in the package. But, her Master had never steered her wrong, so she did as she was told, placing the package on her desk. "Thank you for your kindness, Master," she said formally.

"It was nothing, Apprentice," he said affectionately. "You always were my favorite." Elsa blushed, and he chuckled at her discomfort before giving her a smile. "Well, I have taken up far too much of your time already, Apprentice," he declared, getting up from his seat. "I will bid you a fond farewell."

"I always have time for you, Master," Elsa assured him, rising herself. "Thank you again for everything," she concluded, hoping that he realized that she how much she meant it and that this was most likely their final goodbye.

He seemed to, because tears started to well up in his eyes as he turned and walked from the office. "Be well, Apprentice," he said emotionally as the door shut behind him.

Elsa sighed as he left, and sat back down in her chair. She glanced at her computer and it was still downloading all of the information to the portable drive, so she grabbed her notebook and started to sketch to pass the time. Several hours and many drawings later, everything was finished, and Elsa decided it was time to leave. It was still a bit early, but Elsa didn't care and there were things that she had to do before heading to the Campus square. She gathered up the package her Master had given her, a few of her notebooks, the portable drive and after a glance at Anna's desk, some things she thought her Apprentice would like to keep. Placing everything in her satchel, she took one last look around before leaving her office for good.

After her door slid shut, Elsa walked across the outer office to leave when a quiet voice stopped her. "Not to be impertinent, Master," the Office Assistant said quietly, "but before you leave, I wish to express my condolences about the Apprentice."

"That's kind of you," Elsa replied, turning back to face him.

The Office Assistant looked at her sadly before picking something up off his desk and handing it to her. Looking down, Elsa realized it was a small stuffed llama. "I brought this from home, and the Apprentice always loved it," he said, his eyes growing moist. "I would like it very much if you would keep it now."

Elsa looked down at the llama in her hand and then looked at him, saying the only thing she could. "Thank you," she said sincerely, and the young man nodded. She nodded back. "Goodbye, Assistant," she said, turning back towards the door and exiting without looking back.

"Goodbye, Master," he replied to the empty room, the tears now falling as he realized she had bid him goodbye rather than good night.

Elsa's shadow stood up as she exited the building, but she ignored him as she crossed Campus to the Library. Much to her dismay, he followed her into the building this time, and Elsa figured it was mainly due to the Library's many exits instead of the Architecture building's one. She didn't really want him to see who she was meeting with, though, so she ducked into the nearest ladies' restroom before sending out a text on the secret frequency that Anna had told her about. She waited for a few seconds before Leader's response came through, and she left the restroom to join Leader in the Philosophy Club's meeting room, making sure to slip inside quickly so the door would close and lock before the Enforcer could follow.

"What's this?" Leader asked as Elsa handed her the portable drive.

"A going away gift," Elsa replied. "It's what Anna should have been gathering when she was working for me."

"For which buildings on Campus?" Leader asked, suddenly holding the portable drive like the precious treasure it was.

"All of them," Elsa replied with a smirk, and Leader's eyes widened.

"Thank you," she said sincerely, knowing how much this would mean to her cause.

Elsa nodded. "You're welcome," she said. She took the satchel from off her shoulder and handed it to Leader. "I do have one favor to ask, though. Do you think you could get this stuff to wherever you took our other stuff?" she asked.

"That shouldn't be a problem," Leader said, after a moment's thought. "What's in here?"

"Personal stuff from work, mostly," Elsa replied.

"Anything breakable?" Leader inquired.

"No…" Elsa started to reply, and then thought of the package her Master had dropped off. "There may be one thing," she realized and briefly took the satchel back from Leader to retrieve it.

Leader saw the box when it emerged and grinned. "No, it's not breakable, but it definitely needs to go with you," she said.

Elsa nodded and handed the satchel back. "So you know what it is," she stated.

"Of course," Leader replied with a smirk. "I had him deliver it."

Elsa looked at Leader, but Leader's demeanor was one of a person that would not yield any secrets, so Elsa decided it was better to let it go. She held out her hand. "Goodbye, Leader," she said.

Leader took it and shook it firmly. "Good luck, Ice Queen," she replied. Elsa rewarded her with a small smirk before securing her package underneath her arm and leaving the room.

Her Enforcer shadow picked up her trail as soon as she left the room, and he continued to follow her until she came to her dormitory building. He remained outside as she entered, but Elsa had no doubt that he would be waiting outside the door to her quarters when she left for Anna's execution. She went up to her quarters and went inside, noting that everything she had placed a crown sticker on was now gone. She flopped down on the couch, setting her mysterious package on her lap as she finally yielded to curiosity and tore into it.

What emerged caused Elsa's elegant jaw to pop open briefly before it closed and the rest of her face contracted into consternation. The only clue she had been given to the contents of the package was the cryptic one her Master had given her about her reputation suffering, but she had never expected this. At least she knew now why she had been told to open it in private, and she continued to stare at the item until her face broke out into a wry smirk. Leave it to a rebel group of librarians, actresses, artists, computer geeks and fashion designers to gift her with her very own costume like a comic book superhero of yore just before she took on the State, she thought sardonically before going into her bedroom to try it on.

The outfit was one piece, primarily ice blue in color, but with white mesh that resembled ice covering the chest, the outside of the thighs, the tops of the shoulders and the ends of the sleeves. A cleverly-disguised zipper ran up the right flank to allow Elsa access, and she unzipped it and slipped the uniform on, starting with the slipper-like boots attached to the bottom of the legs and shimmying the tight but breathable fabric up her body. It had long sleeves that partially covered tops of her hands and were kept in place by loops that went around her middle fingers. The neck was high, reaching up past her clavicle but stopping just before it reached her neck.

Once everything was in place, Elsa stepped back, examining herself very carefully in the mirror, and she was very pleased with what she saw. She looked every bit the Ice Queen, from the colors, to the fit, to the ice-looking white mesh. Just in case that point hadn't been fully comprehended, though, the designer had helpfully included a prominent intricately intertwined I and Q logo on each of the sleeves, and Elsa crossed her arms making the logos stand out on her biceps. Elsa looked at herself for a couple of minutes more and she smiled at her image one last time before starting the process of removing her chip and cuff. Once finished, she took her State uniform off its hook to finish getting ready.

Elsa left her quarters promptly at 17:30 and as she predicted, the Enforcer was waiting for her outside of her door. He bowed in her direction and she nodded an acknowledgement before heading for the elevator. Once outside the building, she turned toward the Campus square, grateful that is was in the opposite direction of the early Autumn sun that was easing its way towards sunset. Her powerful stride didn't falter, even as people also on their way to the Square turned their heads and murmured to each other. Whether they were talking about her or her Apprentice or both, she didn't care. Her thoughts were only on Anna and what had to be done to save her.

When she got to the Square, she looked around for the most optimal position, and spotting the location she was looking for, she turned to find a seat, only to be stopped by a hand on her upper arm. She looked down to find the Enforcer's hand there, and seeing her icy look, the hand fell away immediately. "I'm sorry, Master," the Enforcer said quickly, "but the Patricians have already requested that you join them."

Well, at least it would put her closer to Anna, she thought. "As they wish," she said, and the Enforcer took the lead, heading down the central aisle to the gallows that stood in the middle of the Square. As they walked, Elsa was even more the center of attention than she had been when walking through Campus, and this time she could hear snippets of conversation as she passed. Most of the gossipers were sympathetic to her plight; they whispered solemnly about how disgraceful it was that someone like the Master Architect had been paired with a traitor like her Apprentice. A few speakers on the other hand gloated that the Master Architect had finally been touched by scandal. Still a few others, a very few others, wondered what an Architecture Apprentice could have done to warrant a death sentence. Elsa recognized those voices, and though her outward expression didn't change, gratitude surged through her knowing there were allies scattered in the crowd.

At last the gauntlet was completed as Elsa and her Enforcer escort arrived at the gallows. They weren't traditional gallows, as the condemned weren't executed by hanging, but that is what everyone still called them. A small platform and post stood in the middle, and here is where Anna would be bound and would be displayed before the crowd prior to her sentence being carried out. Then, at the order of one of the Patricians, the Executioner would be told to proceed, and he or she would aim and fire, felling Anna with a single shot.

Looking away from the post quickly, Elsa saw the eight Thrones, each designed to represent its Pillar and each holding an already-present Patrician. Beside them a single chair waited, and Elsa did not need the Enforcer to tell her that the chair was meant for her. She climbed the stairs to the gallows, the same ones that Anna would take when she arrived, and the crowd hushed as they saw the proud figure, impressive in her uniform and in her bearing, stride across the stage to take her place beside the Patricians. She bowed to the Leaders of the State as she did so, and they all acknowledged her in return, causing the crowd to murmur at the respect a mere Master was being shown by the Patricians. Elsa turned to face the crowd and then sat, folding her hands in her lap as she waited for Anna's arrival.

Back at the holding facility, Anna looked up as the door to her cell opened and Beast entered the room. "It's time, Apprentice," he said solemnly, so Anna got up from her chair and followed him. She was led down the hall to a medical bay where her biometrics chip was removed with little fanfare. This was done for the benefit of the Interface, as being executed was a traumatic experience and would set off all of its alarms. After this was accomplished, Anna was patted down for potential weapons or escape mechanisms, but the only thing the female Enforcer found besides clothing was Anna's necklace. Anna was terrified that they would take it from her for some reason, but it was deemed harmless and she was allowed to keep it. Now that all pre-execution procedures had been done, Anna was led from the building surrounded by Enforcers.

In the Square, the minutes ticked by and promptly at 17:55, the squad of Enforcers, Anna still concealed in its center, arrived. They marched up the central aisle much like Elsa had done, coming to stop at the bottom of the stairs. The Enforcers parted, and a single Enforcer, one with a cascade of fiery red curls and the best marksmen of the group, brought the condemned forth from the center, stoically fighting back her own tears as she did so. The redheaded pair climbed the steps together, the Enforcer's hand on Anna's shoulder. When they got to the top, the both of them bowed to the Patricians as propriety demanded, but unlike with Elsa, there was no acknowledgement from the people on the thrones. As she straightened up, Anna scanned the faces one by one until her eyes found the face of the person seated on a chair at the farthest end. Anna's eyes widened; she knew Elsa would be here, of course, but Anna never would have thought that she would be on stage.

Elsa watched as Anna and Bear-Scotty climbed the steps to the gallows, mentally preparing herself for what she knew had to come next. She saw Anna bow to the Patricians before straightening and letting her eyes wander down the line of ruling-class individuals. Her gaze stopped on Elsa and her eyes widened, indicating her surprise, but then her expression changed and Elsa's heart broke at the poorly-disguised fear those beautiful blue-green eyes held. Everything within Elsa wanted to comfort Anna, but it wasn't quite time yet. She couldn't give everything away with the squadron of Enforcers this close. So she thought frantically for some signal she could give Anna, something that would be meaningful and comforting, yet might also give Anna a hint as to Elsa's plans. Only one thing came to mind, and Elsa hoped that Anna would remember.

Anna concentrated on Elsa's beautiful face, trying desperately not to be scared. She saw Elsa's eyes soften, and her fear subsided a bit at her Master's obvious concern. Then, as Anna continued to watch, Elsa quickly put two of her fingers to her forehead before laying her hand over her heart. Then just as quickly, the hands were folded and put back into her lap. In spite of the situation, warmth surged through Anna at the gesture, and she smiled. She easily recognized it; those gentle touches indicating ice-power trouble spots had been one of the first times that Elsa had touched her before Anna had touched her first, and Anna could never forget them.

As Bear-Scotty led her to the post, Anna distracted herself by trying to figure out what Elsa had meant. Was she planning to freeze Anna somehow? Was she simply going to use her cryokinesis? Or, was it merely something that Elsa thought would be comforting? Thoughts kept buzzing, and Anna did such an admirable job of distracting herself that she was unaware of anything that was happening until Patrician Scientist, the eldest of the Patricians and their ceremonial leader, began to speak.

"People of the State," she announced, hushing the crowd immediately as the hidden amplification system broadcasted her voice across the Square and cameras broadcasted her image across the State. "The Plebe before you has been accused of conspiring with the despicable Extraordinary terrorist known as the 'Ice Queen' and has been found guilty in a court of law," she stated, and it took everything Elsa had to keep a look of contempt off her face at that blatant lie. "The punishment for such crimes is death, and we are assembled to witness that punishment. As is custom, though, before the sentence is carried out, does any Citizen wish to speak for the condemned?" she asked, knowing that no one ever dared speak.

Elsa felt an eerie calm settle over her at those words. It was time. She reached into the cuffs of her State uniform to retrieve the carefully concealed finger loops of her Ice Queen uniform and carefully slipped them around her middle fingers so everything would be in place. Then she stood, eliciting gasps of shock not only from the crowd assembled in the Square but also from the Patricians seated on stage. "I wish to speak on behalf of my Apprentice, Patrician Scientist," Elsa declared in a loud, strong voice.

"Very well," the Scientist replied tightly as her irritation at the interruption bled through. "What do you wish to say?"

"That I am here to fulfill my promises," Elsa replied coldly, before turning to Anna. "All of them," she added more gently, and Anna felt the tears come. She could not have loved Elsa more in this moment, but Anna did sincerely wish that Elsa's promise of protection would never have to have been fulfilled.

"And what promises would those be, Architect?" the Scientist asked dismissively.

"When she was arrested, I told Patrician Solver and Patrician Historian that if anything happened to her, they would have to execute their precious Proletariat Patrician in the Campus Square. I am here to make good on that promise," Elsa replied. She looked down the line of Patricians, looking at each one of them and letting her contempt show. "I know of your plans for me," she said. "I know that you wish for me to become one of you because you think me to be the perfect Plebe. But, if you insist on killing her or in any way harming her, then that perfect girl is gone. Forever. It is your choice; either let her go, or every hope that you ever had for my life will die a cold, painful death."

The silence in the Square was deafening. Everyone not on stage was frozen, stunned beyond measure that someone would dare challenge the Patricians as boldly as Elsa had. The Patricians looked at each other and then looked at her, and for a brief moment, Elsa became terrified that they were going to overlook her insubordination and accept her terms, forcing her back into Plebian life. Then the Scientist spoke. "Arrest her," she ordered Bear-Scotty, pointing at Elsa. "Then proceed with the execution," she stated decisively.

Much to everyone's surprise, Elsa smiled. The Master Architect was famous for her lack of emotion and most had never seen her smile. This smile was ominously ice cold, however, and everyone but Anna shivered. "As you wish, honorable Patricians," Elsa said, bowing slightly before putting her arms out to her sides. Her palms turned upward and her uniform started to disintegrate as a sparkling wave tore through the fabric. When the wave had reached the bottoms of her uniform boots and the ends of her sleeves, the uniform and outer boots fell away completely, leaving her a vision in ice blue and white. She smirked at everyone's astonishment and then ran her hands through her bun, dislodging the pins and freeing the braid that she draped over her left shoulder. Finally, to leave no trace of doubt as to who she was, she brought her hands in front of her and with a swift swirling motion formed a large snowball that she hurled at Bear-Scotty, knocking her to the ground. Not wishing her to get truly hurt, though, Elsa then conjured a blizzard that picked up the still-dazed Enforcer and gently put her back with her comrades.

Elsa spared Anna a genuine, loving smile before turning back to the now-speechless Patricians. Her face hardened into mask of anger and contempt, and the snow swirled around her in response to her seething emotions. "This will be the last time that you try to take my family from me," she snarled. She gestured again and eight razor-sharp ice spikes erupted from the stage, their lethal points headed straight for the throats of each Patrician. The crowd gasped, and the squadron of Enforcers snapped out of it and swarmed the stage. Pausing the ice spikes for just a moment, Elsa laughed unpleasantly and stomped her booted foot on the ground, sending out an ice sheet that caused all of the Enforcers to lose their footing and fall to the ground. As they slipped and slid trying to regain their balance, Elsa returned her attention back to the Patricians and the ice spikes rose again. The crowd held its breath, waiting for the death blows when a clear powerful voice rang out.

"Please don't do this, Master," Anna pleaded, and the ice spikes paused as Elsa turned to face her.

"But they tried to take you away from me by killing you. Why shouldn't I kill them?" Elsa protested, her rage lessening as she turned and walked towards the woman shackled to the post.

"Because in spite of what they believe, you aren't like them; you'll never be like them," Anna countered, taking Elsa's face in her hands after Elsa obliterated her cuff and shackles with well-placed ice.

Elsa sighed, letting her rage ebb out as she put her arms around Anna's waist. "Thank you for reminding me of that," she said quietly.

"Anything for you, Master," Anna replied lovingly, and Elsa kissed her on the forehead, eliciting an audible swoon from the crowd in spite of their fear of the Patricians. Anna swooned herself before coming back to reality. "Can we get out of here, please?" she asked plaintively.

"That sounds like a great ide…fuck," Elsa swore as she saw Enforcer reinforcements coming up the center aisle. "Do you trust me?" she asked Anna suddenly.

"With all my heart," Anna replied immediately.

Elsa smiled and kissed her before laying a hand on her chest, sending a blast of ice directly at Anna's heart. Anna staggered and Elsa held her up. "If I'm going to do what I need to, I need you safe, but you'll die of hypothermia if I encase you in ice," she explained, seeing Anna's questioning look. "Since I froze your heart first, my powers will keep the hypothermia at bay because your body is freezing from the inside," she finished.

"So you just froze me on the inside so I wouldn't freeze on the outside," Anna clarified quizzically.

"Precisely," Elsa answered.

"Well, I expect one hell of a kiss to thaw everything out," Anna informed her with a smirk, even as she felt the cold start to take over her body. "Now go do what you have to," she encouraged. Elsa nodded, stepped away from Anna and raised her hands, encasing Anna in a thick geodesic sphere that she elevated off the stage with four sturdy legs. Knowing that Anna would suffocate before she froze if she left the sphere fully sealed, Elsa placed an air vent at the top, and because triangles were not nearly menacing enough, Elsa replaced them with same type of razor-sharp spikes that were still at the Patricians' throats. She took care of the slipping and sliding Enforcers on the stage by dropping massive, heavy snowballs to knock them out, and now satisfied that her back was covered, she created a sheet of ice and slid down off the stage to meet the approaching soldiers.

These Enforcers had been warned, and they came with their weapons drawn, firing their pistols at Elsa the instant they were close enough. Elsa generated an ice column to raise her above the level of the shots before generating more heavy snowballs to come crashing down on their heads. With the first wave successfully knocked out, she turned her attention to those still approaching and decided to head them off. Her foot crashed down again, and another sheet of ice radiated all around her, causing the next wave to crash to the ground. Her footing sure even on ice, she slipped around them, knocking most of them out at will until she reached the perimeter of the Square. She raised her hands and a huge wall of ice formed at the back, a wall which continued to be constructed as she circumnavigated the periphery. When she returned to her origin, the wall was complete, and Elsa could hear the frustrated shouts of the Enforcers trying to find their way in.

Elsa turned to go back up the center aisle and found a phalanx of unsteady but angry Enforcers lining the way. She smirked and started running toward them, snapping her wrists in all directions to fire snow and ice at them. Just as Troll had mentioned, she had excellent aim and her projectiles hit their targets but not the innocent bystanders. Within a minute she was back up on the stage, and she immediately raised her hands to thaw the geodesic sphere, knowing that the time was short before Anna froze solid and/or the Enforcers broke through the wall or came over the top.

The top of the ice sphere obeyed her will and vanished into the air as the legs slowly dissipated, leaving a shivering Anna cradled in the bottom half of the sphere that now rested on the stage. Elsa knelt, scooping Anna out of the bowl and into her arms, and the rest of the sphere disappeared. Elsa stroked the usually-red hair that had turned snow white, and Anna's eyes opened before she smiled at Elsa. "That didn't take long," she murmured. "You are so amazing."

"And so are you," Elsa murmured back. "Now let's get rid of that ice," she offered, bending down to capture Anna's lips with her own. Anna responded by wrapping her arms around Elsa's neck to draw her closer and as the crowd watched, the kiss deepened and Anna's color returned, starting out from her heart and diffusing outwards until her fingertips were pink and her hair red. When Elsa could feel all the ice had been thawed, she slowly withdrew her lips, smiling at Anna's slight pout. "As much as I would love to keep kissing you in front of the entire Campus, Apprentice, we really do have to be going," Elsa reminded her with a smirk as they stood up.

"Details, details," Anna muttered. "Now how do we get out of here?" she asked, noticing the ice wall that had been constructed during her icy incarceration.

"All you have to do is hold on," Elsa replied, and Anna tightened her grip around Elsa's neck. The ground beneath them started to rumble, and an ice platform rose from the stage. When it was at the level of the wall, Elsa created a bridge from the platform to the wall's edge that was opposite to the end the Enforcers were trying to breach and she and Anna carefully walked across it. Elsa gave one last glare to the Patricians still trapped on their thrones by ice spikes before creating an ice ramp that she and Anna slid down to disappear from view.

Elsa and Anna heard the shouts of the Enforcers from the other side of the Square, and they knew that they had to get out of the area as quickly as they could. The problem was that they had no idea where to go to meet Hua Ping and no cuff to ask her or Leader where she might be. Just as they had decided to run off in a random direction and hope for the best, they heard a sharp yip at their feet. A small chubby dog, mostly white except for a black nose, brown ears, brown tail and large brown spot on its back, sat there and when they acknowledged him, he sprung to his feet. He took off and Elsa and Anna cautiously followed him. He looked back a couple of times to make sure they were still with him and then increased his speed, leading them quickly through Campus until they reached the off-Campus construction site that they both knew so well.

Anna and Elsa crested the hill, unsurprised to see Hua Ping waiting quietly for them at the bottom of the hollow. The dog went prancing up to her, and she rubbed his head enthusiastically. "Good job, Little Brother! You found them!" she congratulated him eagerly, and the dog wriggled with happiness at her approval. "You're done, here, though," she told him, throwing him a treat. "Go home and wait for me." He grabbed his treat and ran, taking off through the woods as fast as he had come.

"He's very cute," Anna said, as they watched him leave.

"He can be a pain, though," Hua Ping admitted. She looked at them and smiled. "I am so happy to see both of you," she said sincerely. "And Leader tells me it was quite a show. I can't wait to see the replay." Elsa blushed. She was used to receiving praise for her work and intelligence, but admiration for something she had tried to hide her whole life would take some getting used to. "But now, ladies, we need to get you out of here," Hua Ping stated. "So if you please, stand back a bit to give me some space."

Elsa and Anna did as they were told, figuring some sort of craft would be landing near Hua Ping. Instead, much to their astonishment, Hua Ping began to enlarge and transform. Arms and legs lengthened, skin turned into scales, and wings erupted from her back. Within seconds, the quiet, unimposing Thinker had been turned into a large fearsome dragon. Seeing their faces, Dragon Hua Ping snorted in laughter. "We all have our secrets, Ice Queen," she said pointedly yet merrily. "You are not the only Extraordinary left."

"So I'm finding out on a daily basis," Elsa replied wryly.

Dragon Hua Ping snorted again. "Well, hop on you two. We have a fairly long flight ahead of us," she said. Elsa did as she was told, but Anna just stared at Hua Ping, looking annoyed. "Why are you looking at me like that, Ginger?" Dragon Hua Ping asked.

"You are a dragon! And I didn't know!" Anna complained.

"You know now?" Dragon Hua Ping offered.

"I guess," Anna grumbled before taking Elsa's proffered hand to swing herself up. She snuggled in behind Elsa and wrapped her arms around Elsa's waist. "I'm ready," she said.

"Hold on," Dragon Hua Ping warned and took to the skies.

Dragon Hua Ping had been right; the flight was long enough that they flew for most of the night. Elsa was unsurprised to feel Anna relax against her back and even less surprised when she heard soft snoring coming from behind her. The longer they flew, the colder it got and soon the snoring was replaced by shivering. Moving carefully so she didn't fall off, Elsa maneuvered herself and Anna so that Anna was now in front, surrounded by whatever warmth Elsa could give. Anna sighed happily and fell back to sleep, and Elsa held her until they finally landed next to a stream surrounded by a dense forest.

"We're here," Dragon Hua Ping announced, and Elsa gently shook Anna awake.

"Wha?" Anna asked sleepily.

"We're here," Elsa repeated. Anna blinked trying to wake herself up, and the sight was so adorable that Elsa couldn't resist kissing her. Anna smiled and her eyes finally opened. They dismounted and landed in the grass by the stream.

"Your contact will be here shortly to take you to the safe house," Dragon Hua Ping said. "I would stay until she gets here, but I need to get back to Campus."

"Thank you for everything, Hua Ping," Anna said, hugging the Dragon's scaly neck.

"Since you know I can turn into a dragon, I think I can safely tell you my real name is Mulan," the Dragon said affectionately. "Be well, Anna."

"You too, Mulan," Anna said, giving one final squeeze before letting go.

Mulan turned to Elsa. "Be well, Master," she said.

"Elsa," Elsa corrected her. "Safe journeys, Mulan."

The Dragon nodded and gave them one last look before taking off into the approaching dawn and disappearing.

"How long do you think we will have to wait for our contact to show up?" Anna asked after Mulan was no longer visible.

"I don't know," Elsa admitted, settling herself on a rock.

"I would think not long, lasses," a pleasant voice behind them stated, and they both turned to see an older woman with brown hair and kindly brown eyes. "Welcome to Dunbroch."


	10. Contented Fugitives

Chapter 10 – Contented Fugitives

Elsa quickly rose from her rock and went to stand by Anna as the older woman approached them both. "I'm Elinor," the woman said, offering a hand to shake and smirking as she noticed the subtle way Elsa was shielding Anna. Elsa took it and shook it firmly, and Elinor was not surprised to find it on the colder side of normal. Anna grinned and stuck out her own hand as soon as Elinor had released Elsa's, and Elinor smiled at Anna as she took it. Apparently the young lady's innate friendliness had not been overstated. "My Merida informed me that you two were in need of a good place to hide, so I am here to show you to the Woordcarver's hut," she explained.

"Merida?" Elsa questioned.

"Ah, yes. I forgot about all the pomp and circumstance and code names of the illustrious Campus," Elinor said with wry exasperation. "I believe you ladies would know her as 'Bear-Scotty', even though she hates that codename almost as much as she hates the State."

Anna brightened at hearing the codename. "You're Bear-Scotty's mom!" she said excitedly. "She's told us so much about you, and I'm so happy to meet you. I'm Anna."

Elinor smiled at the enthusiasm and the easily-offered first name. From what she had been told by Merida, Anna was born Plebian and shouldn't have had a first name. It meant the young lady had given it to herself and it spoke to her personality and spunk. "Very nice to meet you, Anna," Elinor replied sincerely. "And who might you be, lass?" she asked Elsa, curious to how she would respond.

"Depends on who you talk to, but isn't it obvious?" Elsa replied, sarcastically blunt. Anna gave her a chiding look, and Elsa sighed. "I'm Elsa, or so my Apprentice keeps insisting," she said, giving Anna a look that was a cross between smitten and annoyed.

Elinor smirked but didn't comment further about names. "Very nice to meet you as well, Elsa," she said. "Now I think we should get you two somewhere less exposed." She reached into the bag she was carrying and drew out two dark brown cloaks, handing one to each of the young ladies. Anna took hers and gratefully put it on; apparently autumn meant freezing cold in Dunbroch. Elsa looked at hers and tried to hand it back to Elinor.

"I'm okay without this," Elsa said. "The cold doesn't bother me."

"That may well be true, lass, but it's not the cold I'm worried about," Elinor said wryly, pushing the cloak back towards her. "I'm more concerned that the outfit you have on might be a wee bit conspicuous to any Enforcers or State drones that might be patrolling these woods. Especially you two are the two most wanted fugitives in the State at the moment and everyone who has a screen saw you in that outfit."

Elsa glanced down at herself and winced; Elinor had a very good point. Elsa put the cloak around her shoulders and ice blue and white disappeared under much more camouflaging dark brown. "Much better, dear," Elinor stated with satisfaction. "Now I better be getting my own camouflage on." She turned her back to them, and Elsa and Anna's eyebrows rose as she stripped off the dress she was wearing and put it in her bag, leaving her with no other clothing on. The younger ladies both blushed and turned away, but when they turned back, there was no longer a woman but a large brown bear.

Elsa chuckled, shaking her head. "I guess 'Mama-Bear' wasn't just a codename," she mused. The bear huffed in a way that resembled laughter, but didn't say anything further. "You can't talk in this form?" Elsa asked, after a couple of moments passed and there were still no words forthcoming. The bear shook her head in an unmistakable "no". "Then why could Mulan?" she wondered aloud.

"Simple: dragons are mythological; bears are real," Anna answered distractedly, staring at Bear-Elinor with a delighted smile.

"Mulan seemed pretty real," Elsa countered.

Anna turned her attention from Elinor to Elsa, and Elsa knew she was close to getting in trouble. She didn't care though; she loved debating things with Anna. "What I meant was that since dragons are mythological, they can have whatever biology the mythos sees fit," Anna explained, her eyes warning Elsa to let her finish. "Bears are real creatures with documented biological features. Vocal cords capable of speech aren't one of them."

Elsa considered the argument. It was pretty sound considering that they were discussing transmogrificatied Extraordinaries whose biology was poorly understood anyway. But she would never let Anna have the last word, so she opened her mouth to counter. Her retort was stopped by an annoyed growl from Elinor, whose emphatic pointing paw indicated that they needed to be going. "We'll continue this later," she whispered to Anna.

"And I'll be ready," Anna replied with a cheeky grin. Ahead of them, Elinor shook her head and continued walking, leading them into the dense forest.

Even though Elinor was non-vocal in her current incarnation, Anna kept up a lively conversation with her as they travelled farther away from the stream and into the interior of the forest. Just by using yes or no questions, she managed to find out that Merida/Bear-Scotty could in fact transform into a bear like her mother, that the bear thing seemed to be genetic like Elsa's cryokinesis, that the bear thing had been in the family for generations, and that Elinor was married to a big, burly guy who looked a lot like a male Merida but who had no powers of his own. Though amazed by the amount of information Anna had managed to extract in such a short amount of time from a mute bear, Elsa was not the least bit surprised. Anna had a knack for disarming people into spilling their secrets. "Leader really should have made you an interrogator instead of a tech spy," Elsa teased when the one-sided conversation died down.

"She thought about it," Anna admitted, embarrassed but not offended. "But ultimately she decided we needed someone in Architecture more. I'm really glad she went with that choice."

"Even after everything?" Elsa asked hesitantly.

"Even though we're following an Extraordinary bear through the woods and the State is hunting us down to execute us," Anna confirmed cheerfully, and Elsa smiled because she knew Anna meant it.

"I'm really glad she went with that choice too," Elsa admitted, reaching out and wrapping Anna in her arms. Anna smiled and snuggled into her before giving her a heartfelt, passionate kiss.

"Well, it's good to know that your rescue wasn't just a stunt to piss off the Patricians," Elinor commented with amusement. Elsa and Anna quickly broke apart and blushed as Elinor, now back to human form and dressed, smiled at them. "We're here, lasses," she said, pointing at the cottage in the clearing.

They pushed further into the clearing, and the ramshackle building that greeted them made Elsa's eyebrow arch in disdain. She usually wasn't this judgmental, but the sagging roof, the wide gaps between the planks and the other signs of poor construction coupled with disrepair made the Architect within her cringe. Before she could help it, she was mentally devising ways to repair and improve it. Elinor caught her expression and chuckled. "It's not what's on the outside that counts, lass," she said, turning an old-fashioned key and unlocking the door. They all went inside, but instead of being in the cabin proper, they were in a hallway that extended to both the right and left. Since the cottage was circular, Elsa reasoned that the hallway was one large circle and that going right or left would still bring them back to the front door.

"So the outer building is camouflage," Elsa surmised.

"Aye, that it is," Elinor confirmed. "The broken-down fixer-upper façade, together with its isolated location, has kept this cabin safe since it was built." She went left down the hallway until she came to another door, this one about 180 degrees from the first one. This door was much more sophisticated than the other one, however, and a simple key would not suffice. Elinor placed her hand on the panel and after it was scanned, a menu popped up. Elinor punched a few keys and then reached for Anna's left hand, placing it flat on the panel. The computer scanned it and peeped, and Elinor put her hand up again to confirm the new print was to be accepted for entry. The menu popped up again, and again Elinor put in the correct sequence. Figuring Elsa would prefer not to be touched, Elinor did not grab her hand, but instead just indicated the panel. Elsa put her left hand up, her print was scanned and the panel peeped. Once again, Elinor put her hand up to confirm and Elsa's print was accepted. Elinor let the panel go dark and then reached for Anna's hand again, placing it flat on the glass. It was scanned and the door slid open smoothly.

"I see we don't get the menu option," Elsa observed.

"That's mostly to keep everyone safe," Elinor replied. "Leader trusts the both of you wholeheartedly, but…"

"…sometimes the fewer people that know something the better," Anna finished, having heard this particular rationale many times before.

Elinor smiled. "Exactly," she said. "Anyway, welcome to your temporary home," she stated, leading them through the inner door. "There are hooks by the door to hang your cloaks."

The inner building turned out to be octagonal, not round, and the doorway opened up into what could be considered to be the dining room. The kitchen stood off to its right and was stocked with the normal appliances like a refrigerator, oven, stove and dishwasher, while the living room complete with couch, recliner and fireplace branched off to the dining room's left. A hallway with five doors started at the entryway and went past the kitchen, and Elsa assumed that these were bedrooms and/or bathrooms. Another door stood at the other end of the living room and Elsa's architect eye told her the space beyond this completed the octagon. With its size, Elsa hypothesized that it could be the master bedroom suite.

"This is really big for two people," Anna said, looking around and loving the rustic esthetic as she and Elsa took off their cloaks and hung them up. She disliked the lack of windows but understood the reasons for their absence, and the skylights present throughout the cottage would let sunlight in once it crested the trees.

"That's because it's built to fit twelve," Elinor retorted good-naturedly. "This cottage is supposed to be the headquarters of the revolution when it happens, so it has enough space for the entire Philosophy Club." Elinor paused to think, and a smirk broke out. "Well it did until Elsa joined, that is. I guess Leader just assumed that she would be sleeping with you," she teased, and Anna smiled cheekily as Elsa colored slightly, knowing it was true. "Speaking of sleeping arrangements, let's show you to where I put your things," she said, crossing the dining and living rooms to the door on the other side. Elsa and Anna followed.

Elinor opened the door and went in, Elsa and Anna still following. Two pairs of eyes swept the room, finding a bed, closet, typical bedroom furniture and two more doors. "The door on the left leads to the attached bathroom and the door on the right leads to all of the technology like the alarms, the communication grid, the climate control and the desktop computer," Elinor explained. "There two tablets in the top drawer of the desk in there that are fully connected to the State feed so that you can stay abreast of what's going on in the big wide world. Leader may contact you on those, and you can definitely use them to contact her or me should you need to, but be careful to use the proper frequencies so the State can't trace them back to here." Elsa and Anna nodded.

Elinor walked over and opened the closet, revealing their clothes neatly hung up and the cases they came from neatly stacked up on the bottom. "I thought you two might be exhausted, and it's been a while since I had someone to mother, so I unpacked for you," she explained, looking tentatively at Elsa and Anna because she was not sure if she had overstepped her bounds. "Your other clothes are in the dresser."

Elsa didn't look thrilled, but Anna looked at the clothes, looked at Elinor and then unexpectedly crossed the bedroom floor to wrap the older woman in a hug. "Thank you," Anna said sincerely, hugging her tightly. "I've always wanted a mom, so I have no problems being your surrogate kid."

Elinor hugged her back. "You're welcome, Anna," she said warmly. Releasing her, she went to the bathroom door. "There was something else I unpacked and put in here for safe keeping, but I think it's safe to completely unpack it now," she said, opening the door.

Anna and Elsa waited, expecting Elinor to retrieve something, but Elinor did not go in. Instead she retreated to the far side of the bedroom and leaned up against the doorframe leading to the living room. They looked in the bathroom, curious as to what might be in there, when suddenly a white blur came barreling out of his hiding place in the tub and starting winding himself around Anna's ankles and purring.

"Olaf!" Anna exclaimed, kneeling down to pick him up. "What are you doing here, sweet boy?" she asked rhetorically, cuddling him as she stood up.

"Ask her," Elinor said, indicating Elsa but keeping a safe distance from the clawed demon that was none too friendly with her yesterday. "She put him in a pet carrier and put a crown sticker on it."

Anna looked at Elsa, and Elsa shrugged. "You said you were going to be living with the both of us soon," she explained nonchalantly. "I just wanted to make sure both of us were here."

Hearing this, Anna carefully set Olaf on the bed, wrapped her arms around Elsa and kissed her thoroughly, leaving Elsa a bit dazed. "You are the worst Ice Queen ever," Anna said happily.

Elsa was taken aback, but then realized Anna's meaning. "Only when you are around, Apprentice," she admitted resignedly.

Anna smiled at her, but her response was cut off by an emphatic "Shoo!" from Elinor. She and Elsa both turned to find Olaf sitting in front of Elinor and Elinor eyeing him warily. Olaf ignored the "Shoo!" and came closer, and though it was obvious that Elinor wanted to flee, to her credit she stood her ground. Olaf hesitated briefly but then started rubbing himself against her legs. "Oh, now you're nice to me, you wee beast," she muttered. "Yesterday you were all claws and hissing." Olaf stopped his rubbing to look up at her, and she begrudgingly and very cautiously bent down to pet him. He accepted her ear scratch happily and then went back to his favorite human.

"I'm sorry he was a pain yesterday," Anna apologized, knowing that Elsa was unlikely to do so.

"Eh, he was probably just scared," Elinor said, dismissing the incident with a smile. "Well, I think we've seen the important things in here. Would you like a tour of the kitchen?"

"Yes, please," Anna said, and Elsa looked at her with a speculative eyebrow. "What?" she challenged. "I put the dry ingredients together okay, didn't I?" Elsa didn't comment but raised the eyebrow higher. "Fine," Anna huffed, "I'm a little hungry."

Elsa and Elinor both chuckled at that, and the three of them left the bedroom with Olaf trailing at their feet. Once in the kitchen, Elinor opened a few cabinets, showing them where the dishes and utensils were before showing them the pantry. "When Merida told me that you lasses were coming, I made sure to stock up on the essentials," Elinor said. "When this runs out or if you need anything else, just let me know and I can buy it and deliver it for you."

"We can't ask that much of you," Elsa said, embarrassed. "Is there any way we can go ourselves?"

"Not right now, lass, no," Elinor said firmly. "There is an obscene bounty on your heads at the moment, and even though most in Dunbroch support the revolution, the temptation to turn either of you in would be far too great."

"Speaking of money, even if we could go, we wouldn't have anything to pay with, Master," Anna reminded Elsa, so used to using Elsa's former title in front of other people that the thought didn't even cross her mind that it was obsolete.

"Well, that's not exactly true,"Elinor replied. "Leader had your computer geek guy reroute your both of your bank accounts into a new, secret account. You won't be earning any more, but you do still have what you had."

"So we can pay you for what you bring us," Elsa stated, relieved.

"Well, if it makes you feel better and you want to, lass, but it's really not necessary," Elinor shrugged.

"We'll figure it out later," Anna announced suddenly, sensing a stand-off borne of politeness brewing. Elsa and Elinor glared politely at each other for a moment but looked towards Anna as she opened the refrigerator. She glanced around at the fully-stocked shelves, but one thing on the top shelf caught her eye and she stared at it for a few moments. Just as Elsa was about to ask her what was wrong, Anna reached for it and drew a familiar pink box out of the refrigerator.

"I didn't put a crown sticker on that, Apprentice," Elsa assured her when Anna looked at her questioningly.

Anna glanced at the top of the box and saw a short, handwritten note there. "Dear Ginger and Morgan," it said. "We were raiding Morgan's fridge and this hadn't been touched. We thought you might like a surprise in your new place, so we packed it up along with the cat someone put a crown sticker on. (You owe us for that one, Morgan!) Love you guys, Blondie."

"I swear you lot are the nicest collection of rebels I've ever met," Elinor muttered with a roll of her eyes.

"Brains, not brawn, Mama-Bear," Anna replied cheerfully as she put the cheesecake back in the refrigerator and shut the door.

"So it would seem," Elinor agreed readily, but then looked at Elsa. "Except for this one here," she pointed out with a wry grin. "Defeating three squadrons of Enforcers all by yourself seems like a decent show of force. I appreciate you being gentle with Merida, by the way."

"You defeated three squadrons after you froze me?" Anna asked Elsa, and Elsa nodded and blushed. Anna sighed. "Now I'm really annoyed I was in the sphere and couldn't see anything," she pouted.

"Oh, no worries there, Anna," Elinor reassured her. "I'm sure the State has already altered the tape to make you lasses look bad by now, but the unedited video is on those tablets in the bedroom. Leader disseminated that as quickly and widely as she could."

"Why would she do that?" Elsa asked, annoyed. "Doesn't it put both of us more at risk because people will recognize us easier?"

"Not really," Elinor answered. "Everyone was forced to watch it live anyway, and the State will be broadcasting its version of the events, so I would think that most in the State would be able to recognize you two regardless. No, she is broadcasting the real tape because it's the best recruitment video the Rebellion ever had."

"How so?" Elsa asked, puzzled.

Elinor looked at Elsa like she had just asked the oddest question in the world, but Elsa's face told Elinor it had been an honest inquiry. "Well, lass, let's break it down, shall we?" she asked when the puzzled face remained. "This State is run on fear and the people don't rebel because they are afraid. What they saw, though, was one of the State's most respected Plebes completely disregarding this fear and openly challenging the Patricians on their own stage. Then, after threat of arrest, they saw this Plebe defy the Patricians even further by freezing off her State uniform, showing her utter contempt for the State by obliterating one of the most prominent symbols of it and revealing she was an infamous Extraordinary. Then she showed the people the Patricians and the Enforcers were human by nearly killing the most powerful people in the world and then taking out three squads of their goons."

"But I was just trying to save Anna," Elsa protested.

"And that's the best part," Elinor assured her. "It wasn't some self-aggrandizing stunt. You did it for love. More specifically, you did it because the State was trying to take your love away from you. The State forced you to rebel against it, showing everyone that even the finest Citizens can have their breaking point."

Elsa took all that in and realized to her dismay that Elinor was right. "I don't want to be a symbol," she said quietly.

"No one ever does, lass," Elinor said sympathetically. "But at least you have a devoted partner and a place to hide for a while. Maybe it will all blow over and you'll live out your days in peace." All three of the women in the room looked at each other, knowing how very unlikely that outcome was, but at least the hope was there. After a moment, Elinor roused herself and glanced at the clock. "Well, I need to be getting back, lasses, and you two are probably exhausted," she said with a warm smile. "I'll leave you two to your rest, and I'll come by in a few days to see how you are doing."

Anna went to Elinor without hesitation and gave her a hug. "Thank you for everything, Mama-Bear," Anna said warmly.

"Ah, you're welcome, Anna; it is always nice to help out any friends of my Merida," Elinor said, returning the hug before releasing her.

"Yes, thank you for all of this, Elinor," Elsa added. "I don't know where we'd be without everyone's help."

"You're welcome, too, lass," Elinor replied. "Now get some sleep, the both of you," she ordered good-naturedly as she left the outside door key on a hook and walked out the inner door into the hallway.

The door slid shut, leaving the cottage in a welcome silence. Finally alone, Elsa and Anna looked at each other for a few seconds before Anna nearly bowled Elsa over with the ferocity of her embrace. "You are amazing, gorgeous and I love you, but if you ever do anything that dangerous again, even if it is to save me, the Pillars help me but I will kill you myself!" Anna choked out, the tears coming down in torrents onto Elsa's Ice Queen uniform. Now that they were safe and alone, the emotional upheaval of the last three days was finally catching up to Anna it seemed, and Elsa just hoped she could be the ballast that Anna needed. Elsa said nothing but let her lover cry, holding her close and soothing Anna the best that she could.

Thinking they might be more comfortable sitting, Elsa gently guided them over to the couch and sat them down, her arms never letting go of Anna. Anna's grip on her didn't loosen either, and they sank into the couch together. Elsa continued to hold and soothe Anna, whispering words of encouragement and gently rubbing her back. Anna continued to cry, the cathartic action releasing all of the pent-up terror and uncertainty of the last two days. Eventually her tears slowed and stopped, but Elsa continued her ministrations until Anna loosened her grip and looked up. "I didn't mean to yell at you about saving me," Anna apologized as she sniffled. "I really do prefer being alive to being dead."

"Well, I would hope so," Elsa replied with a small smile. "And please stop apologizing," she ordered gently. "In the last two days you were arrested, nearly executed, frozen internally, thawed out and transported into a completely new life. I would be more worried if you didn't have any kind of emotional reaction."

Anna looked at her, and Elsa gave her an encouraging smile. Anna smiled back. "I love you so much," she said as her arms tightened and she nearly squeezed the life out of Elsa.

Elsa wheezed and Anna slackened her grip a bit, but she didn't let go. Elsa kissed her forehead. "I love you, too, Anna," she said contentedly as they sat on the couch together.

Eventually the peaceful quiet and the lack of sleep caught up with Elsa and she started to drift off. Anna noticed and chuckled, shaking her drowsy protector gently before Elsa could completely conk out. "Come on, love," Anna prodded, and Elsa grumbled a bit in protest before getting up and following her to their new bedroom. After Anna had gotten rid of her own boots and socks, she pounced on Elsa, her nimble fingers found the zipper to Elsa's uniform and she unzipped it before sliding it off of Elsa's body. Her mouth quirked into a smirk when she noticed that Elsa was not wearing anything underneath it. "I think I like this uniform even more now," Anna said appreciatively as she hung the uniform up in their closet.

Elsa smirked in return and crossed over the bedroom floor, wrapping her arms around Anna and snuggling into her back. "You can thank some anonymous members of the Philosophy Club," Elsa said as she started kissing the back of Anna's ear, causing Anna to shiver. "Although speaking of uniforms, I think it's time we got rid of this one," she said, turning Anna around and grasping the lapels of her Architecture uniform. Before Anna could protest, Elsa sent a wave of ice through the fabric, obliterating the jacket and pants and leaving Anna clad only in the still-useful-in-their-new-life turtleneck and Elsa's underwear. "Much better," she purred, lifting the turtleneck over Anna's head and tossing it aside before unclasping the bra underneath and tossing that too. Just as Elsa went to kiss her now-exposed neck, Anna put up her hands and gently pushed Elsa back.

"No," she stated firmly, and Elsa looked at her in pouty shock. "You were falling asleep on the couch five minutes ago and for good reason, probably. You haven't slept since I spent the night at your quarters, have you?" Anna asked pointedly. Elsa looked chagrined and Anna had her answer. "Yeah, I didn't think so," Anna retorted. "We are going to sleep now."

"Yes, Master," Elsa sassed with a smile, a little disappointed but willing to be compliant because Anna was right about her being completely exhausted. Anna smiled and grabbed her hand, and less than a minute later, they were snuggled under the covers in each other's arms. They felt the vibration as Olaf jumped up on the bed to join them and after he had settled down, the three of them fell into a deep, dreamless sleep.

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

Feeling light taps on her nose, Anna begrudgingly woke up, forcing her eyes to open. She had no idea what time it actually was, but she didn't care; neither she nor Elsa had any place to be anymore. Elsa was wrapped around her still completely asleep, and Anna smiled. She looked up at Olaf, who meowed hopefully, and she sighed, carefully removing Elsa's arms so she could go feed the persistent cat. To her surprise, Elsa started crying softly in her sleep and her arms reached out for Anna. "No," Elsa whimpered. "You can't take her away from me. Please don't take her away from me."

Anna's heart broke; apparently she wasn't the only one still processing the last few days. "Shhh, love," she soothed, leaning over to whisper in Elsa's ear and stroke her hair. "No one has taken me away. I'm still right here. I'm just getting up to feed our spoiled-brat cat."

Elsa visibly relaxed, and her restless movements stopped along with her crying. "Pain-in-the-ass cat," she mumbled into the pillow as Anna's gentle touch combing through her hair soothed her and put her back to sleep. Anna smiled, and when she was sure Elsa was content, Anna kissed her softly before getting out of bed. She went into the bathroom to retrieve Olaf's food dish, figuring since Elinor had put him in there for safekeeping, she would probably have put his food dish in there too. She had, so Anna scooped the empty dish off the rug and padded into the kitchen with Olaf close behind her.

Anna had to open a few cabinets before she found it, but Elinor had been kind enough to think of Olaf and a bag of cat food rested in one of the lower cupboards. She poured some in Olaf's bowl and left him to eat, returning to the bedroom. Elsa was still sleeping peacefully, but Anna was now too awake to join her, so she went to the dresser and rummaged around for some clothes. After spying and retrieving something she liked, she pulled her on new-favorite Arendelle Academy t-shirt and shorts set and went into the adjoining office. She retrieved one of the tablets from the desk and returned to the bedroom proper, settling herself in bed beside Elsa to read.

"THE 'ICE QUEEN' TERRORIST IDENTIFIED!" screamed the headline of the State news website she opened. "PATRICIANS' BRILLIANT GAMBIT TO LURE HER OUT SUCCEEDS BUT ENFORCERS FAIL TO CAPTURE HER!" was the follow up. "Brilliant gambit, my ass," Anna muttered. "They had no idea I was the Ice Queen's girlfriend. Those stuck-up idiots got lucky and then were too stupid to use me as leverage. Instead all they did was piss off my Elsa and look where that got them," she boasted quietly, frowning as she scrolled.

"Why are you talking to yourself and hurling quiet epithets at the tablet?" Elsa inquired sleepily.

Anna looked over to see Elsa stretching. "I'm sorry, love," Anna apologized. "I wasn't trying to wake you."

"S'okay," Elsa slurred, still waking up. "You're kind of cute when you talk to yourself." Anna smiled at her and Elsa sat up against the headboard, scooting closer to look at what Anna was reading. Forcing her eyes to focus, she read the story and snorted in derision. "Yeah, they were planning to lure out the Ice Queen; what a load of utter bullshit," she stated.

"And now you know why I was talking to the tablet," Anna told her cheerfully and Elsa chuckled. Anna scrolled through a few more websites, but they all pretty much said the same thing, so she closed the browser. She scanned the home screen, seeing if there was anything else that caught her interest when she spotted something labeled "Morgan's Party". She clicked it, and it turned out to be a video. When she hit play, the Campus Square came into focus and Anna realized this was the video of her own execution.

Both of the women watched silently as the events they had just lived through unfolded before them. It was odd watching themselves, but it was nice, too, as they got to see the reactions of the Patricians and the crowd as certain things happened. Anna chuckled at the look of disbelief that all of the Patricians wore when Elsa stood up, and she laughed harder when that disbelief turned to shock when Elsa's true identity was revealed. "Didn't know what fury you'd unleashed, did you?" she mocked and Elsa shook her head, blushing a little at Anna's delight.

They continued to watch, seeing Anna save the Patricians' ungrateful lives before Elsa froze her heart to put her in the ice sphere. Anna finally got to see how magnificent Elsa had been in her fight with the Enforcers before she had rushed back to the stage to thaw Anna out. At this point, though, Anna grew thoughtful and she paused the video, turning to look at Elsa. "What would have happened if you hadn't gotten back to me in time?" she asked, curious.

"I don't know," Elsa admitted after she had thought it over. "It would depend on why I didn't reach you. If it was because I had died, family legend says my powers die with me and so you would have thawed out and the sphere would have melted. It's a legend though, so I don't know if it's true. If I had just been captured, then you would have frozen solid, but because I froze you out of love, you might have started thawing out anyway. You would have had issues with hypothermia then, though."

Anna studied Elsa, her face unreadable for once, as she pieced everything together. "I know you too well to believe that you would freeze me without knowing there could be unforeseen complications. Why did you still freeze me, Elsa?" she asked quietly.

Elsa looked at Anna, her heart sinking as Anna asked the one question that Elsa had never wanted to answer. Yes, she had known of the uncertainties of freezing Anna, but she still made the choice to do so for one selfish reason. She had just been fortunate that she had made it back in time, and her selfish choice hadn't mattered. She had to be truthful now, though; she had to tell Anna of her selfishness, even if it did end up costing her everything. "I mostly did it for the reason I told you on stage, to protect you from hypothermia," she replied honestly. "But, I also did it so that if I failed in my promise to protect you, you would hopefully die at my hands and not by their hands." Anna looked stunned and Elsa bowed her head, tears slipping down her cheeks. "I know how incredibly selfish that was of me," she confessed. "Your life is yours and yours alone. But, I just couldn't bear the thought of them taking you away from me."

Anna didn't say anything for a long while. She was too busy trying to collect her thoughts and process what Elsa had just told her. It was only after she had thought and processed and weighed things against who she and Elsa were as people that she was confident she knew how she felt about Elsa's decisions regarding her life. "Well, I did say it would be a beautiful way to die," she decided. Elsa looked up at her, startled by the simple statement, and her look of hopeful confusion melted the last of Anna's doubt and anger.

Anna reached out to stroke Elsa's cheek and Elsa leaned into it, fresh tears coming down her cheeks at Anna's magnanimity. Anna reached over to kiss some of the tears away. "I know why you did it, and I love you all the more for it," she murmured. "And, I do realize that we had no time to plan anything before I was carted away. But, we are fugitives now. We have to know that one of us being captured is a big possibility. You have to promise me that you won't make another unilateral decision regarding either our lives individually or together, even if one of us is captured. Promise me, Elsa; promise me we are in this together," Anna demanded.

Elsa cupped the hands cupping her cheeks, relieved beyond measure that Anna still loved her and was still beside her. "I promise, with all of my heart," she swore and sealed her declaration with a possessive kiss. Anna responded in kind and soon the world contracted down to nothing but the two of them claiming one another and assuring each other of their commitment by their kisses and caresses.

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

Epilogue – Six Months Later

Anna yawned and stretched, her hand automatically feeling for Elsa on the other side of the bed. As expected, though, the search yielded nothing, as even in exile Elsa followed her old habits and got up way too early in the morning. Anna paused to let her brain start fully functioning before she threw off the covers and got out of bed. The frigid air of a Dunbroch spring met her naked skin, so she scurried to the dresser to put on some sweatpants and a sweater. She stopped briefly at the control room to turn up the thermostat that Elsa had turned down before going into the kitchen.

The coffee was already brewed and waiting and she poured herself a cup and doctored it with milk and sugar before sitting on the couch. As Olaf settled beside her, she picked up a tablet from the coffee table and began to read about what was happening back on Campus. The State was still looking for them, at this point almost frantically, and it was bringing in and questioning practically everyone who had ever interacted with either of them in any way. That had included the entire Philosophy Club, but everyone was so well-trained and/or such convincing liars that no one suspected the Club did anything but talk about dead philosophers and philosophies. It had also helped that Leader, Merida and Mulan were all highly respected Librarians, Enforcers and Detective respectively and the State had confidence in their fealty, which was ironic considering their favored Architect had been the Ice Queen. But nevertheless, the Philosophy Club was safe for now.

As Leader had predicted, when the State was unable to find the Master Architect and her Apprentice, they had tried to arrest Elsa's parents in Arendelle. Big Daddy had done his job well, though, and now both Synni and Alfred were with him and Tiana's mother Eudora down in Old New Orleans. Anna smiled down at the tablet as she remembered their first communication with Elsa's parents. They had been overjoyed to see their daughter again, even if it had been through the tablet, and their immediate acceptance of her had made her cry. She couldn't wait to see them in person and just hoped it would be soon.

Anna set the tablet down and settled back on the couch, clasping her mug and debating what she wanted to do today. There were several of her paintings that she could work on; she and Elsa weren't doing poorly for money, but selling her pieces always brought in extra, and there was one particular piece of jewelry that she was practically itching to buy. She could also work on planning their garden, Anna thought as her mind skipped around. The ground was still covered in snow, but it was warming up, and in summer she was planning to grow vegetables and herbs so they wouldn't have to buy them. She sighed, not feeling particularly motivated to do anything with a warm cat on her lap and a warm cup of coffee in her hand. Maybe she could just convince Elsa to cuddle with her all day.

As if on cue, the door to the entryway slid open, and Elsa came in, her cheeks rosy from the cold outdoors. She saw Anna and Olaf on the couch and her eyes lit up as she came over to give Anna a good morning kiss. "Morning," she said, leaning down to bring their lips together.

Anna kissed her back but shivered. "Did you have to bring all of the cold in with you?" she teased. "I was just getting this place warmed up."

"Feels okay to me," Elsa responded with a cocky smile.

"I'm not even going to justify that with a response," Anna said as she rolled her eyes. "Did you have a good workout?" she asked.

"Yeah, I did," Elsa said, going into the kitchen to pour her own cup of coffee. "I managed to scale that one really tall cliff face over by the falls."

"Wow, that's impressive," Anna complimented her.

"No, it was pretty ill-advised," Elsa disagreed, wincing as she sank down onto the couch. "Now I'm tired and sore."

Anna laughed. "Well, I was hoping to convince you to cuddle on the couch with me today, so you've played right into my hands," she said cheerfully. Elsa chuckled and surrendered, carefully maneuvering her sore body so that she was tucked right up against Anna. Anna responded by wrapping her arms around Elsa and the two of then sat peacefully sipping their coffee. Eventually Olaf got bored and jumped down, and soon after that their coffee was finished and their mugs were set on the coffee table.

Elsa, her vigor returned by the quiet rest, took the opportunity to shift their positions so that Anna was pinned underneath her hips on the couch. Anna's eyes widened at the unexpected shift and Elsa couldn't help but smirk wickedly, her smug smile telegraphing her not-so-pure intentions for the woman beneath her. Elsa's hands slipped under the sweater and just as she had suspected, Anna hadn't bothered to put on a bra. Her hands cupped the soft flesh they found there, and Anna sighed in pleasure as Elsa's hands started to tease the body they knew so well.

Elsa watched in fascination as Anna started to writhe underneath her. She really shouldn't still need Anna this badly, she thought as her hands continued to caress. They had been together for months now, alone in a cottage when they could indulge themselves at will. There had even been a two-week cycle of endless fucking, fighting and crying after the State birth control had finally been expunged from their systems and their bodies learned to self-regulate their hormones. They had left copious amounts of DNA evidence all over the cottage as proof of their lust and still Elsa found herself wanting more.

Elsa leaned down to kiss her now-flushed lover and the infamous whimper escaped from Anna's throat. Elsa chuckled, her hands finally leaving Anna's breasts to slip the sweater off entirely when a knock at the door snapped them both out of their desire-filled reverie. Elsa hastily scrambled off Anna to answer the door and Anna sighed in frustration as she straightened her sweater and ran a hand through her hair to smooth it back down.

"Morning, Anna! Morning, Lass!" Elinor chirped as she came into the living room with a box of some sort.

"Morning, Mama-Bear," Anna replied happily, glad to see her even with the interruption. "What brings you by?"

"A couple of things, Anna, one of which is in the box," Elinor replied, setting it carefully on the coffee table. She opened the box as Elsa and Anna looked on and they peered into it to see two sparkling blue eyes looking back up at them. "It's a Canadian lynx cub," Elinor told them. "His mother and siblings were killed out in the woods and I found him all alone. Since you lasses are out here all by yourselves, I was thinking you could raise him in relative peace until he's old enough to be released."

"We'd love to," Anna said instantly before Elsa could say anything. She reached into the box to pull the white-beige ball of fur out. She cradled him and he responded by snuggling into her sweater and purring. "I'm going to call you…Marshmallow," she decided as she sat with him on the couch. "Olaf! Come take a look at your new brother!" she called.

Elsa looked at Elinor. "Thanks," she said sardonically.

"I'm sorry, lass," Elinor apologized. "But I can't keep him, I couldn't find anyone else to keep him and you two were my last idea. He is too small to live on his own."

"It's okay," Elsa sighed. "She's going to love him."

"Already does," Elinor said wryly as she indicated the playful cub and giggling redhead on the couch.

Elsa sighed again. "You said there was something else?" she inquired.

"Yeah, there is," Elinor said, her voice growing serious. "Leader sent me this to give to you lasses. Apparently things are changing on Campus and she didn't want to use any of the frequencies." She handed Elsa a small portable drive. "Just plug this into the tablet and the message will start playing," Elinor said.

Elsa looked at the drive worriedly; she could feel the peace she and Anna had obtained over the last few months threatening to unravel. "We'll watch it in a bit," she promised Elinor.

Elinor nodded. "Well, I've got to be going, lasses," she said. "I'll see you two later."

"Bye, Mama-Bear!" Anna called as she walked out the door and Elinor waved.

Elsa dropped back down on the couch and smiled when the newly-dubbed Marshmallow came toddling over to see her, seemingly unafraid of anything despite his small size. She picked him up and he played with her fingers as she set him on her lap. She conjured a few snowflakes that drifted down, and he had a great time swatting at them, sneezing when one of them landed on his nose. "You had to be adorable, didn't you?" Elsa groused as he bounded back over to Anna.

"Of course he did," Anna replied. "Did I hear Elinor say we had a message from Leader?"

"Yeah," Elsa confirmed. "She sent it on a drive because she didn't want to use the frequencies."

"That doesn't sound good," Anna said.

"No, it doesn't," Elsa agreed.

"Well, we should see what she had to say, then," Anna decided as she reached for the tablet on the coffee table. Elsa handed her the drive and Anna plugged it in. Within seconds, Leader's face popped up on the screen.

"Ginger and Morgan, I hope this message finds you well," Leader began. "I am contacting you ladies this way because things are changing rapidly around here, and I want to make sure that this message is not intercepted. Like I am sure you both are aware, the Patricians were deeply embarrassed that their prized Plebe turned out to be the Ice Queen and their response has been to ramp up monitoring through the IRB and the Enforcers. They have cracked down on everybody and everything, and if it's possible, we have even less privacy than we did before. It has gotten so bad that even Voodoo Queen and Debutante are living apart in fear that they will be arrested. Not surprisingly, the Plebes on Campus do not like this, and dissatisfaction with the State is growing by the day. That kind of dissatisfaction had always existed in the Proletariat, and now that they have you two to look up to, their voice has only grown louder."

Here Leader paused, and even though it was prerecorded, it felt as though she was looking directly at Elsa. "The People haven't forgotten that you were one of them, Morgan," Leader continued. "The Patricians were actually right when they predicted the Proletariat would follow you, because from what we've seen, they will. Our Proletariat ranks have swelled by thousands since you rescued Ginger." Elsa frowned, unsure about how she felt about that, and Anna reached for her hand, squeezing it in sympathy as Leader concluded her message. "So, with all that said, this is what I needed to tell you both: public sentiment is with us, we finally have enough manpower and all of the logistics are in place. The Revolution is beginning and we need you two to be a part of it."

THE END


End file.
